Dokuja Chronicles 4,5, and 6
by Shindou Uchiha
Summary: This is the sequel to The Real Chunin Exam: Dokuja Chronicles. Read that before this. Also review,if you wish. So now Dokuja's in a coma. What happends to him now? Read and find out for yourself!
1. The Second Beginning

A/N: This is the sequel to The Real Chunin Exam: Dokuja Chronicles. Read that story first and then continue on to this one! That way you know the entire ordeal so far and won't need to ask any questions. Well, here we are, finally at the point where nobody knows what's coming next, and it's probably killing you. I won't hold off any longer. Here's the beginning of Chronicle 4!

_"Help me!" Markue-Rae, Hanging from a rope by her wrists called out, struggling to get free._

_"Markue-Rae!" Dokuja responded, unsure on what to do. Orochimaru had her captive, and a Sound ninja was under his orders, a sword at her throat. "Let her go already! Are you telling me you would kill your own daughter to get to me? Are you insane?!"_

_"You've always been the kind of brat that would fall for his beloved comrade's. And if there's only one, no matter whom it may be, if it would gnaw at you nothing else matters. There is only one way you can save her now." Orochimaru gave a small chuckle, dying for some payback from his earlier treachery against him. By looking in his demonic eyes, Dokuja knew he would have to fight and kill Orochimaru in order to save her, so he gripped his blade as they each charged at each other. They both gave an array of punches and kicks, blocking or dodging every one thrown from there opponents, until Orochimaru lashed out his unrealistically long tongue and ringed his neck tightly, also squeezing as he choked him, pulling a kunai out. Dokuja attempted to separate the tongue from his throat, but it was no use. He was out of chakra and stamina. Markue-Rae could barely watch from the distance. "Today is your demise. Any last words? Oh, I forgot, you're a little tied up at the moment. Then I guess it doesn't matter. Say hello to Sarutobi for me, would you? After all, you're going to see him soon, boy!" He raised the kunai, pulling it back and ready to end it. "Die, brat!" He slit Dokuja's throat, blood gushing everywhere as the gory corpse fell to the ground. As Dokuja's strength faded away, the last thing he heard and saw was Orochimaru shouting at him. "Wake up, Dokuja!" He seemed to say._

Dokuja awoke in a hospital bed, sitting up quickly and breathing heavily, terrified by his nightmare just a moment ago. He saw he wasn't wearing his mask, finding it at the table to his right. He slipped it on quickly. A medic ninja came through the door, noticing Dokuja was finally up and well. "You're finally awake." He said, coming in. "It took a few days of constant treatment, but the poison that was in your bloodstream was eradicated and your injuries were tended to. You took quite a beating, falling like that and fighting Orochimaru himself. That's something you should've left to the ANBU. They could've done a better job then you did. Orochimaru might've been killed a few days ago if it weren't for your rash action." Those words seeped deep under Dokuja's skin, as he remembered every single gruesome detail of his last brawl. Especially his failure to keep Markue-Rae away from Orochimaru a second time. He tensed up, gripping the side of his bed, flipping around and out the opposite side and threw it as hard as he could out the window while shouting in hate and regret.

"Why?!!?" He screamed, as the bed crashed through the wall and shattered the nearby window, spiraling sideways as it tumbled down to the dirt, landing in a wreck next to Sakura and Ino's feet, narrowly hitting them as well. They looked up, noticing Dokuja falling to his knees in tears under his mask.

"What's his ordeal?" Ino said, staring up at the obviously disturbed Dokuja a few stories up. "You have any clue? After all, he is your teammate."

"I don't know, but I think I should talk to him. He might listen to me and Naruto, after he's calm enough." Sakura looked up as well, replying to Ino. Was it something to do with Orochimaru's presence here a few days ago?

"Please, Dokuja! Try to calm down. We already have enough damage in the village without this behavior!" The medic attempted to stop his rage, but it didn't seem to go over too well.

"Shut up!" Dokuja yelled, giving the medic a kick to the jaw, sending him through the door he came through. "You have nowhere to talk! You have no idea on what I had to go through!"

"However," an unfamiliar voice said. "We do." The two elders of the village came through the opened door. One was an old woman, the other an old man, hence the name. "Kakashi told us everything about your earlier incidents with Orochimaru and your past in the Cloud Village."

_That stalker! He must have listened in when I told Naruto and Sakura. He really knows how to piss me off. _Dokuja thought, cursing Kakashi for his intrusion.

"We also know about your recent bout with Orochimaru just a few days ago, thanks to some witnesses of it all."

"Witnesses? Who are you speaking of?" Dokuja had no idea on what they were talking about at all.

"Enter!" The elder shouted, as three ANBU swooped in on there knees, landing in front of her. It was the three men from before that were outside the barrier.

"Oh, what do you know, you guys again!"

"Pleased to see you for a second time." One of the ANBU said.

"You were quite a fighter back there with Orochimaru. The display of Ninjutsu and Taijutsu was beyond belief. Being able to do so much in one conflict is not an easy task even for us." A second ANBU stated.

"Nah, Orochimaru just went easy on me." Dokuja rubbed the back of his neck.

"The term 'going easy' isn't in his dictionary. There's no question he went full force on you. Either way, you possess a lot of potential. Orochimaru is now seeing you as a threat to his goal of destroying this village." The second ANBU continued.

"Therefore, Orochimaru is now in your bingo book and yours alone, being the only one man that can have a chance of killing him one on one." The woman elder said. "It is your secondary objective as a shinobi here. If you fail, this village will soon fall to it's knees before him."

"That seems prudent, but you got it."

"Also, we found this not to far from where you fell a few days ago. One of those Sound ninja must've dropped it while they were fleeing. It looks as if they did it purposely. We figured it may be important." The third ANBU said, lightly tossing a book into Dokuja's arms. He took a quick look at it, realizing what it was. He opened it as a note fell out from one of the pages. It read as follows:

_Dokuja,_

_If you are reading this, it means you survived a conflict with my father recently and I have left for a second time. I've given you my diary as something to help you keep some sort of memory of me over this period of time. I know you must hate me right now, but I left for a reason besides being able to be with my father again and to seek more power. The reason I left I will tell you at a later date._

_Until we meet again,_

_Markue-Rae_

_P.S: Take care of yourself…_

Dokuja was glad to see this, but also upset of his recent failure. "Thank you, I'm much obliged that you went to the trouble of returning this to me. But I have a feeling that this isn't the only reason that you have come here, is it?"

"Jiraya, another of the legendary Sannin as Orochimaru, is on a search for a woman that has been nominated the title of the Fifth Hokage. We want you to assist him on this mission."

"Sure, but mind if I ask why exactly? I don't see how I would be at much help on a search like this."

"We've also received word that Orochimaru is also on a hunt for the same woman, seeking to heal his arms with her healing powers. If he does find her, you will need to drive him away at all costs to protect her and the village from its destruction."

"I see, I better get packing then. Where will this man meet me?"

"At the east gate of the village. You have half an hour before they ship out."

"I better get going then." Dokuja leaped out of the hole he made with the hospital bed towards his home.

"Well, it looks like you just missed him." Ino said, watching Dokuja sprint away. "If you want to talk to him, you might want to get moving."

"Actually, I think you should see him." Sakura replied. She thought it best for Ino to know about Dokuja's unpleasant past.

"Me? You want me to talk to him? Well, maybe it would be best if he seen someone new for a change. What's his address?"

"He lives in that new house by the eastern gate of the village."

"I'm on my way!" Ino darted off towards Dokuja's home.

~*~*~

About a minute later, Dokuja finished packing up as he heard a knock on the door. He went downstairs and opened the door as he noticed Ino standing on the porch. "Hi," she said, with a small smile. "I came to check on you. After what happened back at the hospital, you know, almost hitting Sakura and me in the head with a bed after tossing it through a wall, I thought you might need someone to talk to."

"Oh, sorry about that. I wasn't in the best mood back there. Those medic ninja really get to me lately. I've also noticed that you and I haven't been properly introduced. I'm Dokuja, and you must be, if I'm correct, Ino, right?"

"That's me! You probably know be back at the preliminaries."

"I sure do, after getting into a tie with Sakura, you'd be known around the village quite well. You're a good fighter, when you think about it. Would you like to come in, maybe have a cup of tea?"

"Sure, if you're not in a rush."

"I have a little while before I have to go on my mission." Stepping to the side, Dokuja let Ino inside, as she sat on the couch. Dokuja sat in a nearby chair.

"So, are you OK? After what happened earlier, Sakura's been kind of worried about you. She suggested that I talked to you, to see if you were okay. And what's with all of this stuff I've been hearing about you fighting some guy named Orochimaru?"

"It's a long story." Dokuja then told her about his past with the Cloud village, how he came to be here, and about his recent conflict with Orochimaru. Ino was shocked, and could barely keep her tears back over the fear and pain Dokuja must've went through.

_And I thought Sasuke's life was bad. Take a look at him. He lost his whole clan, and now his only real friend. Exiling himself in the Forest of Death for six straight months, and coming out to see his worst nightmare for a second time. No wonder he was so flipped out earlier. _"I'm almost afraid to ask, but did you have any…you know… 'Feelings' for Markue-Rae?" Ino cautiously asked him, afraid of more bad memories returning to him.

"Take a wild guess." Dokuja replied, literally giving it away through his sarcasm. He took a look at the clock, noticing he had to leave soon. "Holy smokes look at the time. I better get going. I'll almost be late as is. But if you have any more questions, or just want to talk, just drop by."

"I'll make sure to do that. See you later!" Ino walked in the opposite direction as Dokuja did, heading home. _Man, he really had it hard, and yet is still here today. I'm surprised he didn't commit suicide already. Maybe it's because of Markue-Rae that he's driven on. Maybe she's the reason he's trying to kill Orochimaru somehow… I guess I'll just have to ask him later. _Ino though, looking back as Dokuja disappeared over the horizon.

Dokuja arrived at the gate in a few minutes, noticing a man with a needle like hairdo leaning against a wall. Naruto was also there. "Hey Dokuja! Where you heading?" He asked, running up to him.

"I'm supposed to meet a man named Jiraya here before we set out on a search for someone." Dokuja replied.

"Oh, you're the one that's coming with us? This is going to be so great!" Naruto turned around. "Hey Pervy Sage, we can go, he's here!"

Jiraya glanced at Dokuja, unsure on what to think of him. _I've heard that this kid was able to drive Orochimaru out of the village before he could do much to it. But judging by the look of him, he doesn't have what it takes to survive an attack by Orochimaru, let alone drive him out. It must've been a rumor that spread through the village._ Jiraya stood up straight, ready to leave. "So you're the kid I've been hearing about. You're name's Dokuja, right?"

"That must mean your Jiraya."

"I take it the elders filled you in on the details of this mission, so let's not waste any time and head out now. You can fill me in on any details I need to know while were moving." Jiraya walked away as Dokuja and Naruto followed, as there mission began.


	2. Unexpected Visitors

A/N: Looks like Dokuja has another adventure ahead of him. What happens next? I can't tell you that, it will ruin the story. Here's the next chapter, and I hope you like it.

After a few hours of traveling on the road, Jiraya, Naruto, and Dokuja were in a small wood, on their way to a village not too far from there location. Dokuja finally spoke, tired of the silence roaming between them.

"So Naruto," He asked, curious of the outcome. "Why did you come along with Jiraya on this mission anyway? It's not like you came for nothing."

"Oh, I came along because Pervy Sage was going to teach me a new jutsu while we were out here, witch he still never started yet." Naruto replied, unprepared for a question.

"Oh really? It must be something pretty tough, for him to drag you all the way out on this one."

"I don't know what he's planning on teaching me, but it's probably something I never seen before. Why are you here? Didn't think you'd be let out of the hospital so fast. After all, it has been only three days since the attack."

"Well, I was checked out by the elders of the village and was ordered to go along with you guys."

"No kidding?"

"True to word. Although I don't really see why. I don't think I would be much help in this field of work. But there's no point in arguing with the elders of the village, so I came anyway."

"The elders have a reason for everything they do," Jiraya entered the conversation. "If they sent you, there's a reason for it. Enough about them, let's talk about you. I hardly know you and what you're capable of, so it may be best if you tell me more about your life and abilities."

"Here's my file, if it would help." Dokuja reached into his backpack and pulled out a small pamphlet, witch was his transcript of stats as a ninja. He handed it to Jiraya as he began to read it. Jiraya analyzed it to the letter, shocked at his current skills and battle style.

_According to this, _He thought as he continued glancing at the charts. _He is quite skilled in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and his mastery of that sword on his back is almost unrivaled by the most elite ANBU. However, he lacks Genjutsu and he could polish his defensive tactics a little as well. But his amount of chakra could even match my own and Naruto's combined. No wonder he can supposedly can take Orochimaru one on one. _He handed back the file to Dokuja; witch was put away shortly after. "Aren't you the skilled one. You could match Sasuke easily, and possibly take Kakashi if you had to. Keep growing at this rate and you could even be nominated for Hokage yourself."

"What?!!? You've got to be kidding!" Naruto wasn't pleased with those words at all, shocked of the most part.

"It's a possibility, but he hasn't been here for long. It may take awhile before the elders will actually consider nominating him. Enough about that, we better get started on hunting down our target." The group came up on a village. "In this town." Naruto looked down, gasping in excitement. Dokuja gave a low whistle. The town was in the middle of some sort of festival, bustling with tourism and small business stands. Balloons were hung on signs everywhere. Once they got down from the higher ground they were on, they looked around different hotels to find a place to stay for the time being. Naruto and Jiraya found a pretty girl going into one as they rushed in. Dokuja wasn't getting what he was seeing, but ran after the lunatics anyway. He didn't want them getting carried away. They checked in and got a room with three beds as each of them received a key to the room for them to keep on hand.

"Okay Naruto, Dokuja, go up to the room and train for the day. I have research to do." Jiraya said, and was soon rejected by Naruto; witch again was made into an order by Jiraya as he went off to find the girl again. Naruto went upstairs in a huff as Dokuja trailed behind. They got up to the room as Naruto sat on his bed, putting his bag on the floor. Dokuja chose his bed and put his sack on the floor as well, opening it and grabbing his scrolls and brush as he began writing.

"Uh, Dokuja," Naruto started, giving Dokuja a rather odd look. "What are you doing?"

"I'm coming up with jutsu for me to practice while were out here. I don't want you to have all the fun training with Jiraya and trying to surpass me."

"How many did you make so far?"

"I just finished the ninth one, and I'm trying to come up with a tenth. I guess you could say it's my hobby."

"Uh huh. Listen, I want to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Before we left, Sakura found me and told me about the problem at the hospital. What happened to make you throw a hospital bed through a wall like that?"

"I, uh…"

"C'mon, spill it already!"

Dokuja took a deep breath before answering. "I guess I'll have to tell you. Back when I was fighting Orochimaru after he initiated his plan to destroy the village…"

"Wait a sec! You fought Orochimaru back there and lived?"

"Well, I was with the Third."

"You fought with the Third? Seriously?"

"Yup. Either way, after we were done, a special guest came in the picture…"

"Let me guess, it was Markue-Rae, wasn't it?"

Dokuja only nodded.

"Well, what happened next?"

"Well, she and I talked for a bit, I was trying to convince her to leave Orochimaru once and for all, but she was trying to get me to join him instead of leave on her own. Neither of us left or joined anyone. And then Orochimaru attempted to flee along with her and his teammates after they were driven out. I chased after him, and Markue-Rae came from behind, spewing out a green gas in my face, kicking me to the ground as I passed out. She left me for a second time, and seeing the same tragedy happen twice in less than a year was more than I could bear. I woke up in a hospital, slowly remembering every detail. I was devastated; frustrated with my inane abilities and my failure to protect the person I care for most. So I just tried to keep calm, witch didn't work well. I grabbed the side of the bed I was on and threw it as hard as I could through the wall. I didn't intend to hurt anyone; I just lost control of myself."

"Well having that happen again is pretty hard on your self esteem, so I guess you had the right to do that much, or worse. At least no one was hurt." Naruto paused, for an unknown reason. "You must really care for her, don't you?"

"Even more than you like Sakura and want to become Hokage someday combined. And by how much you like those things, you can tell it's a lot more than just an average person. I mean, look at me. I'm a freak, a loser, worthless even. I felt unneeded and just had nothing back when I was just at the academy in the Cloud Village. It seemed as I was hated by all and loved by none."

_Man, when you think about it, he's just like me. I felt that way when I was young too. Probably because he has inner demons just as I do. I know now how important Markue-Rae is to him._

"I always felt that way, until she finally came along. We became best friends, almost brother and sister. We were rarely separate. We watched each other's back through tough and easy times, every mission we were given we did the same thing and always succeeded. It was the first time I felt wanted. Until that day… We were the perfect team up until then. And seeing the same thing happen again is not easy for anyone. It even felt worse than the last time. I knew if I just killed Orochimaru right then she would have no reason to stay on the path she's on now. I guess Neji's words are true. Nobody can change who they are. Destiny made me strong, but not strong enough to just bring back the only one I truly had any kind of bond with…"

"Well if you keep thinking like that you'll never get her back!" Naruto stood on his feet, fist clenched up next to him. "If you don't remember I proved Neji wrong back then too! It may seem impossible but you just have to keep at it! You can't give up now after you've gone so far already! Look how close you came the last time compared to the first! You are getting there every day. Believe me; I know what it's like. I've been in the same path you were when I was young, and look at me now. You choose your fate! It's not a set course. There is still a chance if you're willing to take it!"

"Thanks, Naruto. I needed that." Dokuja replied, as someone knocked on the door. Naruto went to open it.

"Hold on a sec. Let me just unlock it." Naruto went to unlock the door, turning the knob to the dead bolt as the door opened to show two members of the Akatsuki standing in the doorway. One had a sword wrapped in cloth, and the other was blazing with the Sharingan.

"Naruto," The one with the Sharingan said, with a strange look in his eyes. "You're coming with us." Naruto stood there frozen, unsure what to do. The two figures in front of him were not a pair he seen before, but he wasn't sure if he should try and run or just go with them anyway. Luckily, Dokuja stepped in.

"Hello, poppy," He said, with some sort of accent that sounded like the Crocodile Hunter. "Care to tell me what ye doing here 'round the parts? Seeking out some treasure, perhaps, old chap? I will tell ye where to start digging when you answer this question:" He quit his accent. "Who the hell are you and what do you want with him?"

"Aren't you the irritating one?" The second with the odd sword replied.

"I sure am, and are you going to answer my question? I have better things to do than hang with punks like you, so spill it. What are you doing here?"

The one with the odd blade swung his sword down, hitting the ground with a large amount of force, making Naruto startled. "This kid is getting on my nerves. Can I kill him?"

The one with the Sharingan turned around to face his supposed comrade. "As you wish. But try to keep it quick and clean. We don't want any trace of his remains left afterwards to take care of before somebody tracks us down."

"You!" An unknown person shouted with rage. The duo at the door turned to face whoever it was, as did Dokuja and Naruto. It was Sasuke, and he was panting heavily, as if he ran all the way here just to find them. "I found you after all these years."

"He looks a lot like you, Itachi, who is this kid?" The man with the sword, now hilted on his shoulder, asked the man with the Sharingan, witch name was now known as Itachi.

"He's my younger brother." Itachi said, as Naruto stood in shock, Dokuja a little startled himself.

"Holy shit…" Dokuja spoke, not expecting those words anytime soon.

"Oh really? From what I heard, the entire Uchia clan was wiped out… by you." The man with the sword replied, staring at Sasuke.

"I had my reasons, Kisame." Itachi said to the man with the blade wrapped in cloth, witch was now known as Kisame.

"Okay," Dokuja said, still slightly confused. "Can we switch the subject? How about we talk about what you want with Naruto?"

"Like I said before," Itachi continued. "That's none of your concern."

"Well if you want him, you have to get through me." Dokuja gripped his blade with his left hand. Itachi turned towards him, showing no intention of mercy.

"Stay out of this!" Sasuke shouted, getting Itachi and Dokuja's attention. "This is my fight. It's what I lived for all these years." He thrusted his left arm down, forming a Chidori of a massive size. "It's just as you told me, brother. I fostered my hatred and despised you this whole time. Enough! You're dead!!" He threw his Chidori wielding hand against the wall next to him as he charged towards Itachi, rage in his eyes. Itachi didn't move as the distance between them narrowed inch by inch. Sasuke thrusted his arm forward towards Itachi. The collision caused a small explosion, causing the wall next to him to shatter. As the dust cleared, Dokuja saw Itachi gripping Sasuke's wrist: He brushed off Sasuke's attack as if it was nothing.

_Whoa, _Dokuja thought in amazement. _That guy is a lot stronger than Orochimaru could ever be. Just tossing aside a blow like that is not an easy task. Can I take on a guy like this? If only Jiraya was here, but no, he had to go have a good time with that bitch he left with. Some Sannin._

"Go away," Itachi said, giving Sasuke an icy stare. "You don't interest me at the moment." Itachi, clenching tighter on Sasuke's wrist, broke Sasuke's hand. He yelled in pain, as Itachi threw him across the hall into a wall. "Kisame, grab Naruto and let's go. We've wasted enough time as is." Kisame walked towards Naruto slowly, picking up his sword from the ground. Dokuja jumped in front of him.

"Hold it!" He shouted. Kisame didn't flinch; instead he clenched his fist and backhanded him in the face, sending him into the opposite side of the hall as Sasuke. Kisame grabbed Naruto's arm and dragged him out of the hotel room.

"We don't want this runt trying to escape. Maybe I should chop off a leg, just in case." Kisame raised his blade slightly."

"You're right. Get to work." Itachi replied, turning to leave. Naruto stood in shock of the thought of losing a leg. Kisame threw Naruto on the ground, holding his blade high, prepared to strike.

_I've got to stop him now! _Dokuja thought, quickly leaping to his feet and towards Kisame. _There's not enough time! _Kisame began to swing his sword down as something blocked him. It was a large toad, almost as big as Naruto. Just then Jiraya entered the scene, with the girl over his right shoulder. Everyone turned to face him, as he began his crazy intro routine. Dokuja completely ignored him as he slowed to a stop. When Jiraya finished, Dokuja and Naruto both slapped there foreheads in embarrassment.

"Why do we even try?" Naruto asked Dokuja, witch was standing behind Jiraya at the time, wondering the same thing.

"I don't know. Why are you asking me in the first place? You know him more than I do!" Dokuja replied.

"Enough talk." Itachi interrupted eager to get out of sight as fast as possible, now that Jiraya showed up.

"You must be Itachi. And the one with the sword that should belong to a mummy is Kisame." Jiraya replied. "And your goal is Naruto. I know he's the one you're really after."

"You're right. Naruto is the prize that the Akatsuki are after, and we will have him." Itachi continued, glaring at Jiraya. Dokuja's eye's widened. He didn't have a clue what they wanted with Naruto, but he had a feeling it wasn't good. They're skill was far above Orochimaru's, and therefore they would be harder to keep off of him and not get killed in the process. But Dokuja had to try, he couldn't watch another one of his comrade's be dragged off by anyone else, he could barely handle one as is.

"Dokuja," Jiraya turned behind him, to see Dokuja trembling slightly. "Stand down. These two are not like Orochimaru. They're in an entirely different league. You can't take these two on your own."

"So I'm supposed to just stand by and watch the nightmare that haunted me for months happen for a third time? I don't think so! I've seen one comrade be taken away from me twice and I failed to stop it both times. I won't let it happen to a second friend. Never again." Dokuja replied, clenching his fist in the middle of his statement. "I will not stand by on the sidelines any longer!" Jiraya just stared at him, admiring his courage.

"You have guts, kid." Kisame said. "Now I realize who you really are. You're the kid that took Orochimaru one-on-one and drove him out of the village. I'm surprised you lived, let alone won. It's rather impressive."

"So you heard of me. The news travels fast nowadays doesn't it?"

"I'd love to see what you could do in combat, if I may?"

"No, Kisame," Itachi interrupted. "We haven't the time. We have to leave before someone finds us."

"If- you want- to leave," Sasuke said faintly, hesitating periodically due to the pain in his hand witch was recently snapped. He stood slowly, almost falling back down. "You- have to- get- through me!" Itachi just turned to face him in pity. Then, in a mere second, he sprinted towards his younger brother, giving him a knee to the gut, then an uppercut to his lowered jaw, suspending him at a low altitude. Itachi showed no mercy in grabbing his neck and forcing him against the wall. Dokuja didn't understand what Itachi said to him after that, but he couldn't watch any more. Jiraya tried going around Kisame to intervene, but Kisame stopped him in a mere instant.

"You have to deal with me. Besides, the kid said it was they're fight." Kisame said, glaring at Jiraya.

"Forget someone?" Dokuja said, leaping over him, striking a taunting pose as he ran to intervene with the 'family feud'. Kisame attempted to stop him but Jiraya stepped in front of him.

"I thought you were dealing with me." Jiraya mocked. _I don't really like the idea of leaving Itachi to a Genin, but this will give me a chance to see what this kid's capable of. And it's not like this guy over here is going to let me through anyway._

"Itachi, watch your back! Kisame shouted, warning his partner of the upcoming attack. Itachi turned around, having his attention on Dokuja, blade high and ready to strike. Dokuja swung swiftly as Itachi pulled a kunai and blocked it before impact with his body. _I got to stop that brat! _Kisame thought, thrusting his fist at Jiraya to get him out of his way so he could prevent Dokuja from attacking his teammate. Jiraya didn't flinch, instead k the blow and let him pass. He made a hand sign sequence as Kisame fled with his blade in hand.

"Die!" Kisame shouted, slashing his blade vertically at Dokuja, witch was dodged as he landed on his blade, showing the same pose he did during the training exercise with Kakashi, witch was standing on one hand with his legs bent forward. He waved his free hand crazily as another taunt towards both of them.

"Hi. You're being evicted." Dokuja said. Kisame was furious as he lifted his blade up quickly as an attempt to throw him off. Dokuja just threw himself in the air to dodge as he again landed on his blade on one foot. "What are you swinging at? You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn doing that!" Kisame swung again, as Dokuja jumped off the blade and landing on the floor. Kisame swung a second time towards the ground, narrowly missing Dokuja's foot. "My one armed grandma can do better than that!" Kisame swung multiple times, until Dokuja finally tripped, hitting the floor. "Aw crap."

"You're finished!!" Kisame shouted, raising his blade for the final blow. He prepared to throw his sword down as the walls around him turned into a flesh like color and swollen up like a child with an allergic reaction. Dokuja was getting sucked into the floor when it changed into the form the walls were in as well. Kisame swung down at him anyway but he was too late, Dokuja went under the flesh- like flooring.

_Okay, now I'm scared. _Dokuja thought, suppressed from moving. _I'm getting eaten alive by a mutated floor. Man, I so don't want to be fish food. This is the worst way to die in my book. Ugh, this is very uncomfortable. I would like to get out of here. Somebody, get me out of this… whatever the hell it is. The sooner the better here. _He sat there for s few more minutes until he finally rose above the floor. He took a deep breathe as he stood, aching all over and with many cramps. Itachi and Kisame fled, and there was black fire surrounding a hole in the wall, witch is where Dokuja guessed they broke out of. "They got away…" Dokuja said, utterly disappointed in yet another failure. "Those guys are not any ordinary opponents, I'll give them that much. Either way, what jutsu was that? I almost got eaten alive by some sort of flesh floor."

"Ninja art: Toad Mouth Trap." Jiraya answered, standing as the flesh- like walls and floor slowly disappeared. "It's a summoning technique in witch you can summon the Mountain Toad's stomach, witch is impenetrable."

"Then how did they get out?"

"That is an answer we both want." Jiraya walked over to Sasuke, knocked out cold, and picked him up on his shoulder. "We better get Sasuke checked by a doctor, witch means we'll need to take him back to the village." Jiraya turned towards a stairway to leave, and faintly heard a familiar voice coming closer to him.

"Dynamic Entry!!" Someone shouted, witch seemed to come from a window. Jiraya turned around to face the man, as did Dokuja, seeing a blurry image of an attacking shinobi heading for Jiraya. He moved in the blink of an eye, catching the assassin's outstretched foot before it came in contact with Jiraya.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Dokuja stated, gripping the man's foot harder and slamming him on the floor.

_This kid, _Jiraya thought, staring at him. _He's quick on his toes. Even I wouldn't be able to block an attack that swiftly. _Each of them looked at the already pinned ninja on the floor, realizing he was none other than Guy Sensei from the Leaf Village.

"What the"- Naruto started, shocked a little at the sudden appearance of an old friend. "Guy Sensei? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, it's you guys." Guy said, noticing he was mistaken of his 'sinister figures'. They got out of the building a while later, after he told us his story, witch was rather bad.

"Next time, use a hand mirror instead of your headband to look behind corners, okay? You could hurt one of your allies doing a crazy stunt like that." Jiraya said, rather mockingly.

Guy laughed a bit. "Sure thing; and I'll be sure to get Sasuke to the village ASAP. But before I go I have a few packages to deliver. Naruto, I have something special for you." He reached under his vest for Naruto, eyes wide with excitement. Guy pulled out some green tights, witch matches what Lee wears. Jiraya looked rather depressed at the thing, but Naruto was happier than anyone. Dokuja took more of Jiraya's point of view at the training outfit.

_That thing is uglier than a wild bore's ass. Naruto couldn't really want that, could he? _Dokuja thought, really getting bad images in his head. He tried his best not to hear what came next until Guy mentioned his name.

"Okay, this is Dokuja's." Guy started, as Dokuja looked at him when he pulled out a pair of gloves with the Hidden Leaf Village symbol on it, and there was also a note attached, addressed to Dokuja. "It's from Kakashi." Guy said, holding out everything in his hand. Dokuja took it and opened the note:

_Dokuja,_

_I heard about the mission the elders assigned you and the rumors about your battle with Orochimaru back here at the village are extraordinary to say the least. These gloves can make chakra into different things and shot as projectiles just by concentrating chakra into it, thinking about what you need, and a simple movement of the hand. I don't know what its limits are and what it can make from chakra, so you'll have to use your imagination for those answers. And you have just been accepted as a full fledged ninja here for the Leaf Village, worthy of trust from all other shinobi. That's why the symbol of the village is on the gloves. You'll need to wear it somewhere on your person, since you are now an actual ninja for the village, and I do not think the actual headband would work too well with that costume, so I gave you his signature weapon of the village instead. It looks a lot better than the headband, and with your level of chakra it would be a powerful weapon and asset in your hands. If these rumors are true around the village and the Land of Fire, you must be a great fighter. I wish I could have gone along with you on this mission and see you in action, but I have other business around the village that needs tending to, like getting out of the hospital myself. Either way, I'll be looking forward to seeing you in battle for the first time. I'm proud to be your sensei._

_---- Kakashi_

Dokuja, now in a good mood himself, took off his old gloves and slipped on the new ones. They were a perfect fit, and Dokuja can even feel more powerful when he clenched his fists. "Thank you very much. Tell Kakashi I'll be back as soon as possible, if we find this person in a short time and all goes well." Dokuja was happy he picked Kakashi back then.

"I will, and be careful. I hear there are some bad people lurking around here also searching for the same person you are."

"I will."

"Well, I guess I'm done here. Later!"

"We should go back to the hotel." Jiraya told us, as we both followed him. Dokuja took a long gaze at his gift from Kakashi, wondering what they could do. Either way, he decided not to train today and get a well deserved rest.


	3. New Technique, Harsh Outcome

A/N: Interesting gift from Kakashi, but what can it do? Not even Kakashi knows the full extent of Dokuja's new gloves. Are they just a joke or enough to level a town? We'll find out later. For now, here's the next chapter!

Naruto, waking up from the long brawl yesterday in a different hotel in town, took a long yawn and stared over out the window, when he spotted Dokuja already awake on his bed next to him, writing in his scroll again. "Still coming up with more jutsu?" He said, still tired, rubbing his eyes.

"I got an idea when I was sleeping last night," Dokuja replied, still writing in his scroll. "And this one's got to be the strongest one yet. However, it is the most chakra consuming and the most risky."

"Oh really? What's it called?"

"I haven't come up with a name yet."

"Can I see?" Naruto looked over at the scroll, but Dokuja quickly closed it. "Oh come on!"

"I haven't finished this scroll yet, but you can look at those two by the window." Dokuja pointed towards two scrolls that were side by side, and each was numbered numerically in order. "Those are one's I made and have already mastered. You should look at them, but don't try and learn any just yet. I always have a secret to learning them that I don't write down. If you try learning one of them you'll just be wasting chakra."

"Oh! So that way if anyone got a hold of one and tried to use them they would just be wasting there time and kill themselves by using all of there chakra!"

"Exactly. Well, are you going to look?"

"Of course!" Naruto picked up the first scroll and started reading. "Man, this has almost all of your jutsu in it: Flaming Rose, Water Viper, Energy Clones, Energy Bombardment… hey, what's this one?" Naruto pointed to one with the name of Recreation.

"Oh, that's the one transformation I did during the preliminaries back when I was fighting Gaara."

"You mean when you turned into that monster thing? That scared the crap out of me, and possibly everyone else watching."

"I had a feeling, but that Gaara kid didn't give me any other choice."

"Oh, about him…"

"What? He's dead; you don't have to worry about"-

"He's alive; I fought him when we were under attack by Orochimaru."

"Wait a sec… How did he survive that? I never came across anyone besides Orochimaru that can take that kind of hit." Dokuja thought a minute, and then it came to him: He must've used his sand to create a shell to trick us into him being dead to start a havoc of his own. It was all planned. "That sneaky little son of a bitch. I should have seen that one coming. I was overconfident and didn't bother to double check myself. Oh well, at least you finished what I started."

"Oh I didn't kill him, I just stopped him."

"Eh, just as well."

Naruto put down the scroll, after he finished reading the information on all of the jutsu in it, in this case four, and decided to get dressed for some training. Dokuja stopped writing and started to sharpen his blade. "I've got a feeling were going to make a great team together." Naruto said tightening his headband. Dokuja was writing a note to tell Jiraya where they were.

"Yeah. Me too." Dokuja finished writing the note and taped it to the back of the door as they left for another hard day of training. They walked down the hall side by side, talking about what they plan on doing today.

"What do you want to work on? Jiraya still didn't start teaching you the jutsu he promised, so what is there for you to do?"

"You have a point there. I might as well just work on my basic skills and stuff…" Dokuja could tell that Naruto had nothing to do, so he tried to cheer him up.

"Well, I have to work on some jutsu I still haven't mastered, but after that I got nothing to do either, so how about a sparring match?" Dokuja was almost scared of saying that, seeing Naruto's eyes light up with excitement.

"Finally, something challenging! I better get ready!" Naruto almost ran out the door when Dokuja caught his arm.

"It wouldn't be very exciting if you didn't know where to go and what time." Dokuja pulled out a map. "I'll meet you here at three thirty sharp." He drew a circle on the map where he would be training and gave it to Naruto.

"You got it!" Naruto fled out the door as Dokuja went to train. Once he got there he went right to work on his jutsu, especially his new one witch he finally came up with a name for it: Haven Strike. He trained until about two thirty and waited for Naruto to come by. When he did he was eager as ever to start.

"C'mon, let's go already!" He shouted, impatiently.

"Okay, okay," Dokuja replied, standing up from where he was sitting. "But remember, this is just a sparring match. No weapons are permitted, and that includes my sword. However, we can use any jutsu we learned so far, witch would deny the use of anything I made up that could also prove fatal. The rest is pretty much self explanatory."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Naruto jumped into the air, towards Dokuja, prepared to attack.

"Oh, please…" Dokuja said, jumping towards his opponent for a counter blow. Naruto attacked first, throwing his fist at Dokuja, witch was blocked by his hand as he went for a sweeping kick to Naruto's face, and witch was again easily avoided. Naruto attacked again, this time with a left hook. Dokuja blocked him for a second time, climbing onto Naruto's back and jumping off of him and forming a hand sign sequence.

"Water Style: Water Viper Jutsu!!" Dokuja shouted as he put his hands to his left side as a ball of water started to swirl around in between them. A small stream jolted out and the end of it took the impersonation of a snake's head with its jaws held open. It went towards Naruto, now on the ground. It coiled around his left arm instead of biting him like it did for Sasuke; to make sure it didn't hurt Naruto severely. Dokuja pulled his arm back as Naruto was pulled up by the jutsu. Once he came close Dokuja gave him a roundhouse kick to send him back to the ground as did he go afterwards. Once they both got their balance, Naruto made his own hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!!" He shouted, as four clones of him appeared and they surrounded him. Four of them slid to him on the ground. "Na-ru-to…" each of them said a fragment except the fourth one as they each kicked him in the air simultaneously. Dokuja was somewhat impressed with this jutsu, and analyzed every detail. Just then another Naruto showed up just above him, about to give him a heel drop. "Uzumaki Barrage!" He shouted as his heel crashed down on Dokuja's head as he hit the ground hard. Naruto landed smoothly as Dokuja got up, slowly from the pain rushing through him. He made another hand sign as he stood, as black clouds with a red aura came overhead.

"Energy Clone Jutsu!!" He shouted, as a massive bolt of red lightning collided with him on the ground and a cloud of smoke sores around him. Naruto had to cover his face from the picked up dirt from the impact. Once the dust and smoke cleared and the clouds disappeared, Naruto saw five clones and the real Dokuja was among them. "This is one jutsu I came up with just moments ago." All of them said at the same time, to add to the confusion. One of them did a somersault and came below Naruto, stopping on his hands and pushing himself upward, giving Naruto an upward kick to the jaw as the other clones spread out in midair. The one that gave the first blow jumped up with them. One of the clones on the left attacked with a punch to Naruto's right side sending him towards another clone witch hit him to the highest clone on the left with a kick. Then that clone gave another kick sending him to the fourth clone, and then that clone gave him an uppercut to the jaw, sending him to the last of the five. "Dragons Barrage!" He shouted, sending another kick to Naruto's face, similar to the one Naruto did for his finishing blow on his previous jutsu. Naruto collided with the ground hard. "That had to hurt." Dokuja landed next to him. "You going to forfeit or keep going?"

"I wasn't expecting something like that, but I don't quit that easy." Naruto stood slowly, ready for another attack.

"Okay, let's go again." Dokuja said as his clones disappeared. He was about to attack for another time when someone interrupted them.

"There you two are." Jiraya came from behind a bush. "Come on, we better get some information if we want to find this person before she moves on again."

"Do we really have to come?" Dokuja asked, really wanting to get back to training.

"Yes, you can help scrounge up something useful."

"Oh well," Dokuja said again, looking at Naruto. "C'mon Naruto. Let's go."

"This better be somewhat worth missing training." Naruto replied, coming along as the others were already on there way. He ran a little to catch up with them as they headed for town. A few minutes later they arrived at the square. It was bustling with people and commerce.

"Alright everyone," Jiraya said, after a period of silence. "I'll ask the locals if they seen her, and you two can explore this place for however long you want."

"Really? Finally some fun!" Naruto replied, digging through his backpack and pulling out a fat frog looking purse type thing, witch was purposively filled with money.

"Whoa, that's a pretty fat frog you got there!!" Jiraya grew this weird smile, freaking out Dokuja beyond belief.

"Yeah, I've been saving from my missions!" Naruto went to open it as Jiraya swiped it from his hands.

"Hold your horses, hotshot!" Jiraya pulled out a bit of cash and handed it to Naruto. "From now on I'll be your budget man. You can spend this much today."

"What!??! Only three hundred?"

"A shinobi can never be too careless with handling one of the Three Fears."

"Three fears? What the heck are those?"

Dokuja zoned out as Jiraya gave Naruto a pointless lecture. Once they were done and Jiraya left, he snapped out of it. "Well, what do you want to do?" Naruto asked.

"What do any people standing in the middle of a festival do?" Dokuja replied, and they both knew what he was talking about. They zipped around every place that sold food, and got well over six pounds of grub to split. They then stopped by the last shop that they haven't gone to yet to top it off.

"One large order of fried noodles please!" Naruto was so anxious to finally get done buying and get to the feast.

"My, that is quite a bit of food you got there." The shopkeeper said, putting the food in a container. "You two don't plan on eating all of this by yourselves, do ya?"

"Uh, that's kind of the idea here." Dokuja replied as Naruto put the noodles into the bag with a huge buffet in witch they'll gorge on later. The shopkeeper laughed a little.

"Just don't eat it too fast now or you won't be in the best condition tomorrow."

"Thanks for the advice." Dokuja replied as they went. They ran off to a hill outside the bustling village. They ate for about a half hour and the food was already gone. Naruto's stomach was almost about to burst open from the look of it. Dokuja was astonished on how much he can pack away.

"Naruto, I want to ask you something." Dokuja spoke after a long time of snacking, curious. Naruto turned his head to look at him. "Do you think I'd fit in your squad very well? I mean, I have a lot more experience than you, Sakura, or Sasuke. I don't know if I would make your group any better or if I would just get in the way."

"Now where did you come up with that? You're fitting in just fine. In fact a lot of people are a lot happier when you're around, especially the rest of the squad and me. Even the rest of the squads are becoming your friends. Heck, you might even make it to Hokage in a few years."

"You think so?"

"Sure I do. And so does everyone else." Naruto sat up.

"That's good." Dokuja stood up and started to leave. "I better get back to training. Use the rest of the money on what you think is worth while, I'll catch you later."

"What are you working on anyway?" Naruto asked.

"Remember the jutsu I told you about this morning?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"I'm working on that. And I finally came up with a name for it."

"What are you going to call this one?"

"Haven Strike."

"Ooohhh, that sounds cool! How does it work?"

"Let's see if I can explain it. It's on an entirely new level from my other jutsu."

"I already knew that!"

"Yeah. Anyway, for this jutsu to work like I want it to I'm going to have to concentrate almost all of my chakra into one of my arms, witch I chose my right arm. I have to keep it in my arm and as concentrated as possible."

"Well, if you have so much chakra how come you want it all concentrated?"

"You're one of the one's that never paid attention in class, weren't you?"

"Uh, do I have to answer that?"

"Exactly. Now, let's put it like this. Say someone took a small amount of chakra and shrank it into the size of the head of a pin, and someone else took a large amount of chakra and kept it about the size of a soccer ball. If they thrusted each of them at each other, even though the second man has more chakra prepared, the first one would win because the concentrated chakra has more force and power. The more concentrated the chakra, the more force. And the more chakra that is concentrated can easily sway the power of it. Now, back to the Haven Strike's properties. If I concentrated almost all of my chakra, witch would be a lot if I included my demons chakra, it will result in an explosion almost as massive as three thousand paper bombs."

"But if you did that, concentrating that much chakra in one point, wouldn't it make a large strain on the chakra network?"

"Well, I did say that this was my most risky technique."

"That's a tad more than just risky, its almost suicide. Something like that can really damage your arm. It might even blow it off when you come into contact with anything with it."

"Naruto, even I don't have that much chakra. The most it would do with me would probably give it internal burns at best."

"But that much chakra can't stay inside the chakra network, so how are you going to contain it."

"There is one way," Dokuja paused. "I'll need to send it through my bloodstream."

"Are you insane?!!?" Naruto stood up. "That's not even thinkable! If you pull a stunt like that It will just result in poisoning your blood and you'll die before you could even use it! The Phoenix's chakra would vaporize it to the bone!"

"I didn't say I was just using the Phoenix's chakra alone."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"Calm down and listen. The Dragon and Wolf's chakra seem to make a certain chemical when there mixed that suppresses the Phoenix's chakra negative effects. So instead of poisoning my blood, I'd only do minimal burns to the outer rims of the veins and arteries in my cardiovascular system in my arm, and therefore stay alive."

"I still don't like the whole idea of sending it into your bloodstream, but it can be helpful, if it's as powerful as you say it is. Answer me this: you plan on using it on Orochimaru, don't you?"

"It may be the only thing that can kill him, but I'd need a direct hit to the heart. If I'm even an inch off, he'd live and I wouldn't be able to defend myself. I'd need a squad of medic ninja to back me up if I wanted to use it more than once."

"Man that is risky."

"Yup. But you can't tell Jiraya. At least not yet."

"Agreed. Speaking of witch, I better catch up with him."

"You know what, if I leave you two alone for too long there's bound to be trouble."

"Hey, Jiraya isn't that bad."

"Who says I was talking about him?"

"Hey! I resemble that remark!" Dokuja busted out laughing, as they both ran back into town, to find Jiraya and see if he got any useful info yet. They searched around as Naruto hesitated and Dokuja went on. Dokuja didn't know what he planned on doing, but he found Jiraya in a somewhat casual tavern, holding a bottle of sake, and girls were all over him. He also noticed Naruto's money bag completely cleaned out. One of the women around Jiraya's neck noticed him.

"Who's that kid?" She asked Jiraya, purposively. Dokuja did not like her at all. The look in her eyes was… either in disgust or suggestive. Either way, he hoped that Jiraya would leave quickly.

"Oh, he's with me. His name's Dokuja." Jiraya said, having another glug of his drink.

"Oh, so you're that believed ultimate ninja fighter person?" She got up and approached him. Dokuja kept a close watch on every one of her movements as she slowly came next to him. Once she got close enough, Dokuja could notice she was drunk. "Why don't you join us for a drink?" She attempted to put her arm around him, but Dokuja swatted it away.

"Hands off," Dokuja said, as she gave him a very intimidating look.

"Well, isn't somebody cranky today? I think I can fix that…" She tried again, and Dokuja again swatted her away.

"I said hands off!" Dokuja, forgetting his manners, and that she was a girl, gave her a good palm thrust to her gut, knocking her flat on her ass.

"Hey, c'mon Dokuja," Jiraya persuaded. "Lighten up. Enjoy the feminine touch of one of these beauties and have a drink to calm your over agitated nerves."

"There is only one person I felt a connection with," Dokuja started. "And she was taken from me by one of your damn brethren in the Sannin! Anyone else that tries to mock me or convince me into anything like this is trash!"

"Touchy little brat." Another of the numerous girls replied. "Jesus kid, learn to calm down." She attempted to continue, but was interrupted when a kunai flew centimeters away from her face and into the back wall of the bar.

"I'll give you until the count of three to get out of my face." Dokuja pulled two more kunai from a pouch. "One," He started counting down as the girls fled and a depressed look showed up on Jiraya's face.

"You really know how to ruin a man's fun, don't you?" Jiraya said, really disappointed. Just then Naruto came around the corner, with a couple of fried squids in his hands, one larger than the other. It looked like he planned on giving one to Jiraya.

"So there you two are," He said, finally noticing his bag of stored cash was flatter than a bath mat. Dokuja backed away slowly, knowing this wouldn't end well. He pretended not to listen as Naruto jumped on to a table in front of Jiraya and started flailing out on him. Then, without Naruto noticing at first, one of the fried squids slipped off of the toothpick it was lodged on, and came for Dokuja. He ducked down and it hit somebody's somewhat flashy white suit, apparently brand new. Once the greasy treat fell to the floor, you could see a stain on the left collar.

"Hey brat!" One of the man's associates shouted at Naruto. "You just stained the boss's new coat! You better be able to pay for it now, and I'm talking a good fifty thousand dollars!"

Jiraya looked at the stained jacket. "Really, that piece of crap is worth that much? You have to be kidding!"

"Watch your mouth old man! This man is a Chunin from the Village Hidden among the Stones! He's well known and stronger than anyone else in his village!"

Jiraya stood up and took a few steps towards the so called strong man. "This seems like a good time. Watch Naruto, I have a new jutsu I want to show you." He held out his hand as the man in a white tux jumped towards him, prepared to attack. Jiraya stayed in that position as a ball of spiraling chakra appeared in his palm. Once the man was close enough, he thrusted it forward into his gut. After a few seconds the spiraling chakra threw him back into a nearby booth, witch was selling water balloons and rubber balls. Naruto stood in awe at this power Jiraya planned on teaching him. Dokuja was somewhat impressed himself. The stand was totaled as Jiraya walked over to the owner. "And I was holding back on him. Tell you what. I'll pay for the damages and buy everything you got, including water balloons."

"Here," The man held up a large wad of cash. "This should cover it."

"Why, how generous of you. C'mon you two, help me pack up all of this."

_Whoa, _Dokuja thought, unsure on what he saw was true. _I could put something like that to good use. Now all I have to do is get a glimpse of it at it's full potential and one more original jutsu can be born!_


	4. Leaving Town

A/N: What does Dokuja have up his sleeve? Read and find out, that's all I can tell you. And what can his new jutsu, Haven Strike, do? Again, read and find out in this brand new chapter!

Once Dokuja and Naruto picked up the merchandise, Jiraya took them out into a small part in the woods for them to train. Once they got there, Jiraya pulled out a couple of water balloons and tossed one to Naruto. "What's this for?" Naruto asked, holding his balloon with caution, making sure not to pop it on him.

"It's the first phase of training to learn this jutsu." Jiraya replied, as he held his balloon in his left hand. "Now, describe what it looked like earlier."  
"It looked round, like a ball."

"Exactly! The basic step to this jutsu is rotating your chakra in a ball like formation. This is how you'll learn it. You will move the water inside the balloon until it eventually pops. Here's an example." Jiraya held is balloon in front of him as it started to get lumpy, and it eventually busted open. Naruto stood in awe, but Dokuja wasn't impressed. "You have to get your chakra rotating fast enough for it to pop, and that may take awhile."

"Yeah right!" Naruto shouted. "I can have this down flat by tonight!"

"Oh really?" Jiraya looked over at Dokuja. "Hey, you want in this too? It can give you something to do while I work with Naruto on this, so I might as well teach you while I'm at it." He tossed a balloon over to Dokuja, witch was caught with ease.

"Are you kidding me? This was taught to us back at the academy of the Cloud Village. Basic training."

"Then prove it hotshot."

"Fine." He held his balloon out, as it started to twist in a coil like form and burst open.

"Impressive, you already passed the first step. Now try it with this." He tossed a rubber ball at Dokuja as he caught it again.

"This I haven't done, but I'll give it a shot." He held it up above him this time, sending chakra into it, and he had a problem. He could get it to twist a little, but it barely budged. "Man, that's a lot harder than it looks."

"That's why the jutsu is so powerful. Not as easy as you thought, now is it? But the effect of this jutsu on an opponent can kill him easily."

"Eh, sorry, I have better plans with my time."

"What!??! Are you saying you'd rather work on your mediocre Haven Strike than this? Are you insane?" Naruto screamed, for who knows what.

"What is this Haven Strike, as you put it? I demand a demonstration."

"You really want to see?"

"Yes!" Naruto interrupted, as usual.

"Okay, but I haven't quite perfected it yet, so I highly doubt it will work right."

"That's fine. We can see where you are with it so far." Jiraya was interested in this.

Dokuja approached a tree, and thrusted his right arm down as Sasuke would've done with his left for Chidori, and focused his chakra. A large swirl of blue, black, purple, and red chakra started to swirl around his arm, increasing in speed gradually. Once it finally kept at a certain pace, Dokuja thrusted his hand into the tree as a small explosion went off, sending the tree out of it's current position and flying high through the sky, and it hit the ground far from where they could see. "Nowhere near perfected." Dokuja said, walking away from the newly formed wide hole around where he was standing.

"Are you crazy?" Naruto stood up, aggravated somewhat. "If you go any farther, you could blow your arm off!"

"I already told you what this jutsu could do, and it's not finished yet."

"I think it's fine."

"It's not how I want it! It needs to be stronger if I can use it to"- He hesitated.

"To what?"

"I think you already know." Dokuja said, and Naruto knew what he meant. And purposively, so did Jiraya, although he didn't say anything as Dokuja walked off to train elsewhere.

"C'mon Naruto, he doesn't know what he's missing out on. You start training, and I'll sit over here." Dokuja could here them talking faintly as he went deeper into the woods for a new training grounds. Once he got to an appropriate distance so nobody could see what he was teaching himself at the time, he started to work on his Haven Strike. The basis was a tight, spiraling motion around his right arm, from the shoulder to the fingertips, in a concentrated, fast moving formation. He also had to combine all of his demons chakra with his own for it to have enough force to do a massive amount of damage to the target.

_Okay, _Dokuja thought, as he prepared to try his jutsu again and make more progress. _Nobody can tell what I'm doing way out here, so I might as well get started. I have to merge all of the chakra I can from the Phoenix, Dragon, and Wolf with my own and make a swift, rotating, focused spiral through my entire arm. I thought it might have been easier than this, but it must be harder than anything else I've ever tried. Let's give it a try. _ He thrusted his right arm downward, supporting his wrist with his left hand. He started to focus his chakra, as a combination of blue, black, red, and purple auras started to spiral around his entire right arm. It increased in speed gradually, but quickly faded after about a minute, as Dokuja felt a quick rush of pain through his triceps and hand. _I guess after training on it for so long, my arm doesn't want to go through with it much. I got the speed of the rotation the way I want it, but I can't concentrate it as I need it to be. It must be sharper, stronger. But, how? The four different types of chakra don't want to work in harmony for some odd reason. I'll have to look into that. And after I get that down, I'll have to work on maintaining it for a longer amount of time. I'll do some research on my demon's chakra, and try to uncover what I have to for this to work. Then I'll work on the concentration and maintaining it. _Dokuja went back to the hotel, and started to hit the books. After a few hours, he still hasn't uncovered anything. _Damn, there isn't anything in these textbooks that is worth while. It's already getting late. I better hit the sack and try again in the morning._ Dokuja went to bed, and Naruto was still outside training, not making much progress by the thought of it. _Naruto, you're working way too hard. I bet he'll end up using most of his chakra and pass out soon. Or he could be smart. Oh right, were talking about Naruto. Oh well. _Dokuja slept through the night, having nightmares about Markue-Rae and Orochimaru, as usual. He woke up after he was killed in his dream, like the one he recently had in the hospital. He saw Naruto, out cold in his bed. He didn't really care, and started to find more information on the demons again. He worked the whole day, again finding nothing. Things went on like this for about a few weeks until one night, Dokuja found what he was looking for. _Of course! I found it! The Wolf and the Dragon don't get along well and when they each appear in the same immediate area they usually have a fight to the death, ending in a tie. I have been keeping their chakra next to each other, and it would cause a reaction and shut everything down. I'll have to keep them separate until they're successfully fused together to prevent that. So all I have to do is put the Phoenix's chakra in between them and it should work out fine. It took awhile, but I found it. However, it's too late to give it a field test, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. I wonder how Naruto's coming with his jutsu… By the amount of training he put into it, I think he should have made a lot of progress. I'll see him tomorrow. _Dokuja hit the sack and again had nightmares. He gotten used to them after a week. The next morning Dokuja woke up to find Naruto already got up. He was heading towards Jiraya, witch was still half asleep.

"Hey Naruto, could you get me a glass of water?" He asked.

"Water? Okay." Naruto pulled out a water balloon and held it in his right hand, and he focused chakra in his left as he rapidly jabbed the balloon with it in multiple directions at once as it blew apart. Dokuja was impressed as Jiraya was splashed as the contents of the balloon landed on his face. "Well, that was the first step. What's next?"

_I got it! _Dokuja thought, remembering the jutsu Jiraya used on that one thug at the bar. _If I can learn the rest of the basis of that jutsu, it can help me with the one I'm working on now and give me a new one. Two birds with one stone! Now all I have to do is listen to what the next step is and try it myself. I think it may be popping a rubber ball. If I can get one, I can train to concentrate my chakra to the level required for my new jutsu. But the problem is I already told them I had better plans, so they might want to hold me back from this, so I'll have to hide it from them. That will be a pain, but it's worth it, for that technique to reach its highest point. I'll get a quick meal, and then I'll start training. _Dokuja left his room, went down to the kitchen, grabbed a bite to eat, and got out to the area he was training at before. He held a rubber ball (witch he stole earlier) in his right hand and started feeding it chakra in a spiral like motion, but it didn't move much, it barely even twitched. _Man, this is tougher than it looks. I'll have to focus harder if this thing is going to blow anytime soon. _He tried again, sending more chakra, and it made little difference. He tried over and over, and made a small amount of progress. _Jesus Christ, how can Jiraya do this with so much ease? There has to be some sort of trick to it. C'mon Dokuja, think… Oh, now I get it. You have to focus as much chakra as you can into the ball and concentrate on one small spot of your hand while you're doing so. Tricky to get, but after a while, it pays off. Well, I guess I'll have to give it a shot now. But I'll need something to concentrate on, or it won't work. Now this is when a pen or some ink comes in handy. _ He pulled out his brush, dipped it in some ink he had on hi, and drew the symbol of the Leaf village on his hand. (Yes, he took his gloves off first. Thought I'd clear that up.) He then put the ball back in his hand and tried again, imagining the mark on his hand, and picturing his chakra focusing on only that point. In about a few minutes of constant focus and strain, it blew apart as Dokuja was sent flying back into a tree trunk. _Ouch, that one hurt. _He thought, sliding down the tree a bit. _But I did it. Now if I can combine what I just learned with the Haven Strike, it could bring down a building in one blow. But how? I only learned to focus chakra like that onto one small point in my hand, and I need it all the way from my hand to my shoulder in the exact same way. I have to find a way to get it the entire way around my arm… Let's see. It helped me when I focused on one image in my head…That's it! I better get back to the hotel. And hopefully I can sew as well I can come up with jutsu. And I'm going to need some dark red cloth, a needle, and a heck of a lot of stitches. _Dokuja ran back into town to buy some supplies and headed back to the hotel to start sewing a design onto the right arm of his suit.

*~*~*~*

The next morning Dokuja finished sewing on his new design. It was a dark red Dragon, circling around his right arm, and ending around his wrist. _This looks great, and it helps with training. How clever can I get? I'll answer that. Very. _Dokuja couldn't help but smirk a bit. He started out of his room, when he saw Naruto was heading down the hall, obviously heading out to train.

"Oh, there you are." Naruto said, looking at Dokuja's newly updated outfit. "Dude, nice tattoo!"

"It's not a tattoo, remember, it's on my clothing, not on the skin."

"Who cares? It's cool!"

"Yes, it is."

"Anyway, Jiraya's looking for more information on this person we're supposed to track down and refuses to help me train. I hate training alone. Want to come with me today so I at least have someone to talk to?" He seemed as if he really was starting to hate training by himself.

"Well, it couldn't hurt." Dokuja stepped out of his doorway as they both went out the door and to where Naruto usually trains. He had a yellow bag filled with rubber balls next to him. He grabbed one and started focusing his chakra as he did for the first stage of training. Dokuja was about ten feet away from him, working on his jutsu.

_Okay, I have to do what I did yesterday. Focus on the dragon on my right arm. Feed the image chakra and concentrate it…Fuse the different chakra together…Keep it spinning… _The four different colored chakra swirled around his arm like before, but the intensity was stronger, and the spin was slightly faster in acceleration. They started to mix and his arm was steaming from the heat generated from the reaction from the chakra. It spun faster and faster, until it disappeared and Dokuja's arm took another stronger jolt of pain as he fell to his knees, grunting in agony.

"Hey, are you okay?" Naruto asked, looking over.

"I'll be fine." Dokuja replied. "I've felt worse before. Nothing special."

"You sure? It looks like it's killing you."

"I'm fine, really."

"Okay, if you say so."

_Well, let's try again, _Dokuja thought. He did it again, ending up with about the same result as he again fell to the ground.

"I think you might be going too far with this jutsu."

"Naruto, seriously, I'm fine."

"Well it sure doesn't look like it."

"Look, the reason I came up with something like this is because it may be the only thing that could deal a lot of damage to Orochimaru in one blow, and throw any other ninja nearby off balance."

"How do you know it's not strong enough already?"

"How do I know it's ready?"

"Well, have you tried to hit anything with it?"

"I would if I could, but I can't seem to maintain it for long enough."

"Then you might want to ask Pervy Sage to help you out."

"What can he help me with? I don't even want him to know about this or he'll stop me before it's done."

"Why would he?"

"He doesn't want me to try anything like this because he doesn't want me to go after Orochimaru on my own. He thinks he's the only one that can bring him down and he doesn't want me to 'get in the way'."

"Well that's true."

"Exactly."

"There's got to be something that we could use…"

"Don't worry about it. Just get back to training yourself. We'll find something when the time comes."

"Okay. It's not like were in a rush or anything."

"Yup." They continued training like this for about two weeks, and after that time they showed significant improvement. The day after that, Naruto tried something else, and Dokuja observed. Naruto was messing with the ink mark on his hand, witch Jiraya gave to him just before he started the second step, and changed it to the shape of a leaf. He stood back up and was ready to try again.

_Well, well, Naruto's catching on. I think this is the day he completes the second phase of training. _Dokuja continued thinking, as Naruto tried again. He started to focus chakra, and after a few seconds a huge explosion blew the rubber ball into small, ripped up pieces. Naruto was skidding on the ground pretty far, as Jiraya came out of nowhere and stopped him. _That was awesome. He actually did it, and well too. He blew that ball apart and holy crap that was intense chakra he used. Now tomorrow he'll get the next step, and I better pay attention. But right now I have to work on my jutsu and get prepared for whatever else is going to hit me in the morning. I can get most of the chakra at a good rotation speed, and concentrate it well, but I'm still having trouble fusing them together and maintaining it. I'll work on the fusion for today, and I'll probably have it down by tomorrow morning. I'll have to work hard tough, if I'm going to keep up with Naruto. _Dokuja went back to training when Jiraya lugged the knocked out Naruto back to the hotel.

*~*~*~*

The next morning Dokuja and Naruto both got up early and waited for the third and final step to learning the jutsu. Jiraya held a few balloons in his hand as he tossed one to Naruto. He held the other one in his left hand. "Watch closely." He said, as Naruto stared at the balloon. Nothing happened, as Naruto got frustrated.

"I don't get it! Nothing's happening! What is there to see?"

"Oh, nothing's happening, you say." He held out his other empty hand. "Let's see what's really happening inside the balloon." A spinning ball of chakra was in his hand. It was a perfect sphere, and was spinning rapidly, faster than before. Dokuja was getting the idea, and Naruto was stunned as he looked at his balloon. "If you want to master this, you have to get its rotation and destructive power to the max and them maintain it."

"Well, why do we have to do this? I don't see much of a difference."

"It's a lot stronger after this step. Let me demonstrate. If you don't keep it as I did and only go past the first two steps of training, you get this." He stood next to a tree and made another ball of chakra, witch was much slower than the previous one and much wider in diameter as well. He thrusted his hand into the tree as a spiral formation was carved into it on contact. "After this step, you get this." He focused his chakra again, this time the same speed and size as the one he made on the inside of the balloon. He hit the tree again, as the impact gave off a small amount of light. The chakra sawed through the tree, going through a large chunk of it.

_This is exactly the kind of training I need to perfect my Haven Strike. _Dokuja thought, as Jiraya kept on jabbering on about how the last step is important. _If I can do that, I can easily maintain it for a large quantity of time_ _without it going out on me. This is good,_ _this is very good._

"Now, I just got some information on the person were tracking. She's in a nearby town not too fat from here. Pack your things; it's time for us to go."

"Hey! We can't go yet! What about my training?"

"You can train on the road. If we lose her now, we'll never find her again in a very long time. This is no time for complaining, its time to move."

"C'mon Naruto, let's go pack." Dokuja said, walking back to the hotel.

"Ugh, this really bites." Naruto caught up to Dokuja as they went back to town to pack, Jiraya just behind them. Once they packed, they headed out to Tanzaku town, witch was the name of the village.


	5. Meeting Tsunade

A/N: What's in store for everyone at Tanzaku Town? Who is this person they're hunting for? All this and more in this new chapter! (Would like reviews, if possible.)

Chronicle 5: Meeting Tsunade

Dokuja, Jiraya, and Naruto traveled for an hour or so until they arrived at a large staircase, and it had a sign above it saying it was the entrance to Tanzaku town. Naruto was still training with those balloons. He popped at least a good two dozen already. Jiraya didn't really pay attention to him. He just kept walking, hoping to find this person in time. Dokuja didn't even know the reason why he was so determined. It's as if the fate of the village is in the balance and they need this person to win.

"We're here." Jiraya started. "Naruto, you stick with me, Dokuja, why don't you find a good hotel for us to stay in and drop off our bags? I take it you know the summoning jutsu, correct?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Summon a small creature to come get us when you find an appropriate place. And make sure it's not too expensive." Jiraya said. _If this works, I can see if he's actually as good as they say he is. I wonder… _Jiraya thought, as he took off his bag and held it by the strap, bringing it back, and then threw it as hard as he could (Faster than Naruto could see it, that help?) "Here!" He said as the bag flew towards Dokuja. He caught it easily, with a sharp crack on his hands when it collided with him.

"You ticked at me or something? That was kind of hard." Dokuja replied, slipping Jiraya's pack on top of his.

"Oh, sorry. Sometimes I forget my own strength." He said, rubbing the back of his head, and with a wicked smile.

"Right. See you two later then." Dokuja said taking off into town. He started searching for an empty room somewhere, also for a reasonable priced. It's not as easy as it looks. He was outside walking from hotel to hotel everywhere until he found one a few hours later. He rented a three bedroom room on the west side of town.

"It's not five stars, but it's still a good room." The tenant said, dropping his bags on one of the bed and handing him three keys, one for each of the guests. "Enjoy your stay!"

"Thank you." Dokuja replied as the tenant left, shutting the door behind him. When Dokuja unpacked and organized everything and placed his stuff on the bed next to the window, he made a hand sign sequence and bit his thumb, extracting a small amount of blood and thrusting his right hand on the floor. "Summoning jutsu!" He shouted, as a small cloud of smoke surrounded an area, and once it disappeared after a few seconds a small, dark purple colored dragon appeared in its place. It had bright red eyes, small arms, stubby legs, a short tail, and black wings.

"Evening, Hishumaru." Dokuja said to it.

"Oh, hey Dokuja!" It replied, turning around. "What's up?"

Dokuja pulled out a picture of Jiraya and Naruto. "I want you to find these two witch are somewhere in town and bring them back here. They're traveling together, so it shouldn't be too difficult."

"You got it!" Hishumaru started out to find them after taking off on its tiny wings out the window. Once it left the room, it started squawking down the road.

"Well, that takes care of that." Dokuja said to himself. He sat down on his bed, searching for his scrolls and accidentally knocked his bag over, knocking some of his stuff onto the floor. He started to pick it up when he found an old picture of Markue-Rae and himself together, smiling at each other and having what appeared to be the time of they're life. He held it closer and rubbed off some of the dust to get a better view. "I'll bring you back, and break you out of his clutches. I promise." He stood the picture on the windowsill, in the sunlight. "I remember that day as if it was just an hour ago. Our first A- rank mission. It went without a hitch, and we were so proud of ourselves. We even went out to eat in celebration. It was the best day of our lives. I want that to be every day. That's why I'm going to bring you back to the Leaf Village, if it is the last thing I ever do." He went back to picking up the mess he made accidentally. He found his scrolls and pen and placed them on the bed, and when he finished picking up the mess continued writing in them. About a half- hour passed until Hishumaru returned with Naruto and Jiraya, panting heavily.

"Permission- huff- to take a- puff- nap, sir! - wheeze…" Hishumaru said, barely able to keep himself airborne.

"Granted." Dokuja said. Hishumaru gave a deep sigh as he fell on the ground, out like a light, snoring a little even.

"You did well; this is a good place, and not a bad view from the window. Good work." Jiraya said, as he sat on his bed.

"Eh, it was nothing too difficult."

_I expected him to summon a toad or a ninja hound, but he summoned a dragon. I never would've expected that. It's highly advanced, and on top of that it's rare to be taught. Odd indeed… _Jiraya thought, as he stood up. "Let's go get some more information. We better track her down before she leaves again."

"What? We just got back, can't we rest?"

"That would only put us more at risk of losing her again."

"Come on Naruto, let's get going. We could get some food while were out here as well."

"That's true, but I'm still thinking we should rest a bit."

"Quit complaining and let's go." Jiraya said, starting out the door.

Dokuja stood up, as Naruto stared at the picture on the windowsill. "That's her, isn't it?" He asked, pointing at the portrait.

"Yeah." Dokuja replied. "After our first A-rank Mission."

"I can see why you want her to come back so much. She looks so happy."

"Well, we better get moving before we lose Jiraya." Dokuja dashed out the door.

"You're right." Naruto turned around, but hesitated as he took another glance at the photo. _Damn it. Why did you do that to him?_ He thought to himself, wanting to ask Markue-Rae that very question as he turned the lights out and shut the door.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After a few hours of searching for info, they decided to get something to eat. Naruto's stomach was growling the entire way to the restaurant. Dokuja could barely take the insanity. Hishumaru could almost strangle Naruto for making him hungry, too. They stepped into the parlor and Jiraya took an odd stare to one of the women in the back, drinking some elixir. She had average length blonde hair, a tan colored outfit, and had what appeared to be an apprentice of hers, witch had brown hair, a purple outfit, and held a pig with a red overcoat and what appeared to be a pearl necklace. Dokuja identified it as Tonton. They stared back, squinting. Then Jiraya shouted in half relief and astonishment.

"Tsunade!!" He said. He pointed toward them as Naruto stared at them as well

"Jiraya! What are you doing here?" Tsunade replied, standing up. All of them sat together at Tsunade's table as they talked for a few minutes and Naruto ordered some food. Dokuja ordered a drink as it came around the same time as Naruto's food. "I can tell you one thing; I wasn't expecting to see one of my old comrades anytime soon. It's quite a surprise, don't you think?"

"So you're one of the Sannin as well?" Dokuja asked. _Why would the elders want us to search for someone like her? She abandoned us, leaving the village. Jiraya also did, but at least he came back._

"Let's get down to business. The elders of the village wish to make you the Fifth Hokage." Jiraya said. Dokuja could see Naruto almost choke. Even he couldn't believe it.

"What!??! You're kidding!" Naruto jumped to his feet after swallowing.

"I agree with Naruto. She couldn't do crap to help the village."

"Excuse me?" Tsunade was aggravated at his words.

"You know," Shizune, her apprentice, started. "He does match the descriptions in the rumors going around recently."

"C'mon Shizune, you know better than to trust things like that! It's just a rumor, nothing more. A publicity stunt."

"What?" Dokuja was starting to hate Tsunade more and more.

"Either way, you know what happened to the old man, Sarutobi- sensei. He was a fool all the way to the end. Playing at Hokage, it's a fool's game!"

"What was that?" Naruto stood on the table, clenched teeth and all. "Right now, if you're disgracing the Hokage, I don't care if you are a lady. I'll wipe that cynical sneer right off your face!" Naruto punched his own hand and gripped his fist in the other hand.

"Naruto, sit down!" Jiraya shouted at him. Naruto gave a grunt, crossed his arms and sat back down, glaring at Tsunade.

"Geez, this woman is C-R-A-Z-Y." Hishumaru said to Dokuja, deep in thought at her latest comments and everything else she said. Tonton gave a sharp 'oink' at the other summoned pet. "What was that, pork chop?" Tonton gave another screech. "Oh, you did not just say that about him!" Hishumaru started to glide towards his taunting friend, but Dokuja threw his arm in front of him, preventing him from moving forward. "What the-"

"Stand down." Dokuja interrupted.

"But-"

"I know they're aggravating, but we don't want any trouble."

"Look at you. Acting all mature. You can quit the tough guy façade." Tsunade took another sip of her elixir.

"What?!!?"

"We all know that your petty little vows and dreams mean nothing. There's no logic in it. It's impossible. There's no way you can kill him." Dokuja caught on to what she was talking about and slowly lowered his hands from the table and got into a pouch on his right leg, equipping his hand claw, and on his left hand he held three shuriken. "And there's absolutely no chance for the one going around the most. Just face it…" The words echoed in Naruto's mind along with Dokuja's. "_You'll never get her back. Not in this life._" In a mere flicker of the eye at the end of that sentence, the three shuriken were now in the wall behind her, one at either side and directly above, and Dokuja's claw was at her throat. Shizune yelped a little, shocked at the speed of the attack. Dokuja was breathing heavily as his blood lust lingered in the air. Someone by the counter of the restaurant, witch appeared to be the manager, spoke into the silence.

"Hey, if you're going to fight, do it outside, otherwise, sit your ass down!"

"Fine." Dokuja finally spoke after a moment. He pulled his claw away from his throat as Tsunade and everyone else started out the door. Naruto in half a sprint, caught up to the enraged Dokuja.

"You're not leaving me out of this one!" He was ready for action as well. They went into the street and Jiraya, Shizune, and the two summoning creatures stood at the opposite side of the roadway from the restaurant. Naruto and Dokuja stood side by side, facing Tsunade.

"Naruto, here's the plan," Dokuja started. "I'll head in for the first run and you come in and finish it off later."

"So you're telling me to stand down and let you have all the fun?" Naruto questioned.

"Not all, just most." Dokuja responded, glaring at Tsunade again.

"Before we get started," Tsunade taunted. "One finger is all I'm going to need."

"Oh yeah?" Naruto said, pulling a kunai and starting to charge.

"So much for the plan…" Dokuja said to himself. He observed Tsunade closely, watching her every move, noting her style of attack. Naruto came into close range, preparing to strike with his kunai, taking careful aim. Tsunade just stood there. Naruto thrusted his knife forward, but Tsunade ducked, and simply hit him with an uppercut with only her index finger, but still had the strength to send Naruto's headband into the air along with his kunai. Naruto was caught off balance as Tsunade flicked him, astonishingly sending him across the road, past Dokuja. He recovered, sitting up after his short flight as his headband and kunai landed at his feet. "Interesting… She's a lot stronger than she looks. Looks like I might have a problem with this after all… Fat chance." Dokuja reached for his sword, drawing it a little. "No, this time I won't need this." He let go of his sword as it slid back into its case. "I'll play it fair. Just Taijutsu and maybe a little Ninjutsu should do the trick." Dokuja took his turn, charging directly at his target, and then jumped attempting a roundhouse kick. Tsunade ducked again, avoiding his attack, but Dokuja had it planned out, flipping over her, grabbing her arms, pulling them behind her back and using his foot to pin her on the ground. "Honestly, you're going to need to do more than just dodge if you want to beat me."

Tsunade just chuckled, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, and what Dokuja was really holding was a large stick.

"What the"-

"Too slow!" Tsunade appeared behind him, giving him a flick to the back of the head, sending Dokuja to where Naruto was, now standing.

"Amateurs. Can't even touch me." She started going on about how pathetic they were. Naruto jumped to his feet, shouting at her on how he will be the Hokage and they started to get in an argument. Dokuja took the oppuunity to get prepared for his trump card, getting into position, focusing his chakra. Naruto already prepared himself for his own trick, creating a ball of chakra in his hand as it swirled in a clockwise rotation. He started running forward, but Tsunade caught him, thrusting her finger into the ground, causing in to crack, tripping Naruto and causing his jutsu to hit the ground and send him flying backward to where he was a moment ago. Dokuja was still focusing his chakra to his right arm. She continued talking to Jiraya the Rasengan and all that. Dokuja was almost prepared.

_C'mon, this has to work; some at least, focus… Yes I can feel it raging through my chakra network, stronger than before… Now! _Dokuja's arm started to flare up in a mix of different colored chakra fusing together, creating steam. Some of his arm stated to turn whiter than snow, but only a small fraction. Barely visible. Tsunade could feel the intensity, turning towards Dokuja, seeing what he was planning. Jiraya saw it too, and couldn't believe it. Shizune gave one of her signature shocked expressions.

"Well, he learned a pretty cool new trick, didn't he?" Hishumaru said, staring at Dokuja's arm as he started to sprint. Jiraya could barely see him as Dokuja practically warped in front of Tsunade, thrusting his arm forward. Tsunade ducked, grabbing his arm with both hands. The chakra was so intense it started to burn her skin as steam was becoming visible. She couldn't bare the pain anymore as she threw Dokuja back. He could feel the chakra vanish in seconds as he hit the ground. _Shit… _He thought as he flew backwards. Once he stopped he could fell a strong jolt of pain rushing through his right arm, stronger than he ever felt before. He clutched as hard as he could as a feeble attempt to stop it, just making it worse. Once it stopped, he stood slowly.

_What was that? _Tsunade thought, checking her hands. She had second degree chakra burns on both of them. _It did that much in less than seconds. If he got a direct blow with something like that, the explosion would've been catastrophic. But by the look of it and his style, I don't think he's even close to perfecting it yet. It looks like he got the idea from the Rasengan Jiraya was teaching Naruto over there. The rotation, force, and concentration of both of them are almost certainly similar. Maybe the rumors are true. He could be able to take down Orochimaru in a few years of training maybe. _"That's an interesting jutsu you have there. And it doesn't look like you perfected it yet. I'll let you in on a deal I have with that brat over there. If you can master that jutsu in one week, I'll admit that you can take Orochimaru down and get your comrade back. But if not, I get all the money you're carrying."

"You got yourself a bet." Dokuja was finally done with the pain he was feeling a minute ago.

"Look like their relationship seems to be getting a little better." Shizune said to Jiraya. Tonton gave an 'oink' in agreement.

"That seems true, but they have a long way to go before Dokuja sees her as a friend rather than a foe."

I hate to say this again, but I really need reviews, so… can you please send me some? Really need at least one. Haven't gotten one in like about ten months…


	6. The Bet

A/N: I know, I haven't been updating often, I'll try to speed things up a bit. Please send a review with comments on the story so far. Unless I render you speechless, that is.

Dokuja, already deep in the forest outside the town, was training frantically to meet his end of the bet in time. He was making very little progress as his arm was killing him after almost every attempt to get it right. He could even feel his flesh burning, boiling inside his own skin. His stubbornness didn't help either, keeping him going on and on, no matter how much pain he had to endure, he needed to win this bet. Not only to defend his honor, nor to show Tsunade who was better, but to ensure himself that his friend wasn't lost forever. To keep himself thinking that he has at least a chance of getting Markue-Rae away from Orochimaru. He already almost felt hopeless. He was at it for only a few hours, and his arm was feeling like it could fall off any second. Looking around at the impact craters he left on numerous trees, he could tell he was making small, but effective progress. _It's still not good enough, _Dokuja thought, clutching his arm from the almost unbearable pain this was dealing on him. _I have a long way to- go…_ He fell to the ground, unconscious.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Elsewhere, Tsunade and Shizune were in a room of a nearby apartment building, discussing random topics. Shizune finally brought up something important. "That jutsu Dokuja used earlier, it was… troublesome." Tonton was asleep on her lap.

"What of it?" Tsunade responded, not getting where she was going with this.

"Well, the pain he was feeling wasn't any normal injury. There's only one way he could've generated that amount of energy. You and I both know that."

Tsunade finally understood what her assistant was saying. "His chakra can't hold the amount required for this jutsu, so he sent it through his blood stream, correct?"

Shizune nodded. "We have to help him in some way."

Tsunade sighed. "You're right. I'm going to need a lot of ingredients, so we're going to run some errands."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, Tsunade finished what needed to be done, and found Naruto in the streets. He was also training hard to keep his end of their deal. "Naruto!" Tsunade shouted.

Naruto was startled a little. "Yeah?"

"Tsunade held out a small bag and a note attached to it. "We need you to find Hishumaru, give him these, and tell him to find Dokuja and give these to him." Naruto took the items in his hands.

"What are they?"

"Just a special medication I made for him. It will heal the injuries in his arm instantly after he uses that jutsu he's been training on recently."

"Okay, you got it!" Naruto ran back to the hotel to get the delivery made.

Tsunade turned to Shizune. "Well, it's done. And hopefully it works."

Shizune nodded, as Tonton yelped again in agreement.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Dokuja woke up, still in the middle of the woods, surrounded by many trees with holes in them. He looked up into the sky, noticing Hishumaru was flying above him, holding the bag Naruto had given him beforehand. He came swooping down, landing on the ground smoothly on his tiny feet, letting go of the package. "Special delivery from Tsunade!" He said, taking off again. Dokuja sat up, grabbed the bag, and noticed the note that was attached. He pulled it off the bag and started to read:

_Kid,_

_This should help with your injuries that this jutsu causes in your arm. Take it and you're arm will heal in seconds. Don't thank me, thank Shizune._

_-Tsunade_

Dokuja took a look inside the bag. The contents looked like food pills, but they were used by medical ninja. There were about fifty in the bag, and at one at a time it would last for awhile. Dokuja slipped the pills into his pouch and continued training for the rest of the day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Six days past, and Dokuja and Naruto both made about the same amount of progress. They were training together after the first few days. They each were nearly done, but there just wasn't enough time. They trained relentlessly, and Dokuja rarely took the pills. He only took them after he was done training for a day; they worked well, though, so he really didn't need them more than that. He almost had the conversion of chakra down; only about a fourth of it didn't want to cooperate. He could feel with every attempt that another small sliver was being added to the converted portion every time. Naruto was exhausted, sweating all over, and his hands were burned from chakra. _There's not enough time, as close as we are there's just not enough time… _Dokuja was feeling hopeless, that he'd never get it in time. All the same, he kept gong, along with Naruto. They never stopped for the whole night, until they passed out due to chakra exhaustion, as usual. Dokuja got up earlier than usual, to give it one more go. He got into his stance, focused his chakra, and then thrusted his arm into a nearby tree. It caused a large light to appear out of nowhere and an explosion followed afterward. He felt the strongest pain in his arm yet, pulling out a pill and taking it as the pain just disappeared. _I think I just about have it. I never would've thought. _He pulled out a slip of paper and left a note for Naruto as he went back to the hotel room that he hasn't seen for days. He wrote down what he learned onto his scroll, grabbed a large breakfast, and decided to go sightseeing through the town while he was still here. He pulled out a map that he purchased earlier and took a look at it, finding different landmarks. The one that interested him the most was the Tanzaku Castle, the place where mainly the richest and more powerful people used to live when they were chosen to run the town. They changed their government since then and now it's a landmark to attract tourists and merchants for the town to prosper. He looked out the window to the direction where it was supposed to be towering high over the village, but nothing was visible but a ruin of some building. Then it hit him: that was the castle, but it was torn down recently. An eerie feeling was coming over him, and it felt familiar to him. _He's here. _Dokuja thought. Seeing many images of his worst enemy, the followers of him, and his family being murdered for the sake of his experiments, and most of all, his long lost comrade. He armed himself with his weapons, his sword on his back and the hand claw in its case as he set out to the castle, or what was left of it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In a few minutes Dokuja arrived at the castle's courtyard, as the odd feeling of an evil presence seemed to lurk about. "This is it." Dokuja said to himself. He leaped around, searching everywhere for his target, making sure to keep a low profile. After the first half of the castle was searched there was still nothing, until he got to a path on the opposite side of the castle. Orochimaru was standing in the middle of two walls, and standing in front of him was Tsunade. _What the hell? _Dokuja came in closer for a better look. Tsunade was holding an orb of chakra and slowly approaching Orochimaru's injured arms from his last bout with the Third and Dokuja in the Leaf Village. It appeared she was going to heal him. _You're kidding me. She's going to heal that son of a bitch? Yeah right! _He lifted up his mask, revealing one of his eyes, now absorbed by his keckei-genkai. It showed her plan clearly. _Ah, much better. _He stayed hidden, waiting for her plan to be executed. Just then, out of thin air, they jumped away from each other as a kunai landed in the ground. Dokuja looked to the direction of where it came from, seeing Kabuto standing on the other wall to the right of Tsunade. He jumped down and told his master what she planned to do. He cackled.

"Tsunade, really, after all that I offered you?" He paused. "You would repay me by trying to kill me?" Tsunade had a gloomy look on her face.

"Your offer was tempting. Just the thought of seeing them again, to hold them in my arms…" She stopped and proceeded to hug herself and weep.

_I guess it's time to put my mastery of stealth into action. _He pulled his mask down to where it belonged and moved swiftly onto the opposite wall where Kabuto was standing. He drew his sword and prepared for his turn to strike. Tsunade stopped her tears as her eyes shot open, and she leaped over her two targets, leg high in the air. Kabuto and his master jumped out of the way as Tsunade's heel sent a crashing blow into the ground, making a large crater from the impact and even breaking the walls in a small area. Dokuja stumbled from the shockwave that came from the kick, and hesitated no longer. _That can prove useful…_ Dokuja said, lifting his mask for a second time, watching her moves and ballistic strength as she punched the wall that Orochimaru and Kabuto evaded to, causing it to shatter into small chunks. Dokuja put his mask back down and got his sword ready. Orochimaru and Kabuto fled to a tree behind the wall they were just on. Dokuja focused his chakra into the blade and took careful aim as his blade shot out on their chains, over the wall and towards it's targets. Orochimaru noticed it, as well as Kabuto, and they dodged in different directions as Orochimaru stared at the sword.

_This kid is growing to be a real pain._ He thought, recognizing who else was here, as the blade came back for another shot. They both dodged again, as the blade sunk behind the wall and Dokuja jumped over to join the fight.


	7. Sannin Showdown: Part I

A/N: Next chapter's right here. This one came a little quicker. You should be happy.

Chronicle 6: The Sannin Showdown

Tsunade looked back at the new arrival. "How did you find me here?"

Dokuja sighed. "Felt an odd presence and saw you with him," He glared at Orochimaru. "Why shouldn't I be here?"

"Did anyone else come with you?"

"Sorry, I'm alone."

"Good. It's better that way. I didn't want Shizune getting in my way. I didn't want you either, but you can help more than I know, considering if the rumors are true anyway."

"It's him." Kabuto said to his master. "That kid. I've heard about him. I've seen him fight, but compared to what you told me he's far better than meets the eye."

"This brat can be quite tiresome, when it comes to his feeble pleas and his attempts to get my daughter away from me and bring me down. He's a persistent brat. We have a large problem if he can show his true power again."

"That's not necessary, I can handle him."

"I must warn you, he's much more troublesome than he seems. He can take you and me and still live to fight another day. The only reason I got away the last time was because his 'comrade' gave a helping hand in my favor. That's the only reason I'm still here. Stay on your guard if you want to go against him."

"Well, what are we waiting for? We going to do this or not?" Dokuja said to Tsunade.

"You're right." Tsunade replied, ditching her green jacket. "Why wait?" She clenched her first and thrusted it at the wall Orochimaru was hiding behind. She seemed to have startled them because they jumped back onto the tree they just were forced off of.

"She hasn't lost any of her strength." Orochimaru stated to his partner. "It wouldn't go well for you if she ever connects."

"Well this area is a little cramped to what I think would be beneficial in this kind of fight."

"Are you suggesting a change in scenery?"

"Yes, I think a change would be wise. We'll have more room for gaining distance if we had a more open area." One of Dokuja's blades cut the branch they were standing on again as they went to flee away from the town. Tsunade stepped forward to the wall she recently shattered and picked up a chunk of rock.

_No you don't, I'm going to finish this! _She thought, crushing it in her right hand. Dokuja was already sprinting after the escapees.

"Are you going to stand there all day? They're getting away!" He called back. Tsunade gave a light grin.

_It's hard to believe that kid has that much fight in him. Even when he's way out of his league he keeps on going. No matter what the odds. He's a lot like Sarutobi. The same with that other kid with the blonde hair. _She went to catch up to her comrade and followed their enemy's in pursuit.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few minutes later Orochimaru and Kabuto turned around and stopped, facing their opponents once again. They were now in a large, endless fiend of grass, and a few rocks here and there. Dokuja and Tsunade took a short skid after seeing them stop, getting into a battle ready stance.

"Do you think you have a chance against me? Just because you have that brat with you over there doesn't mean you still have a fighting chance." Orochimaru spat.

"I wouldn't take the kid lightly. After all you experienced first hand what he could do to you." Tsunade replied.

Orochimaru cackled. "The only reason he could give this kind of injury to me is because he had help from that feeble old man Sarutobi."

"And now I'm with him. Why would it be any different?"

"Have you forgotten all about your fear of blood?"

Tsunade paused, speechless.

"Yeah, so what? It's not like you'll have a chance to shed any of ours."

"Thinking like that, you're death is all but assured, boy. In a matter of time, you'll be digging yourself a grave right next to Sarutobi's."

"Come and try it."

Orochimaru turned to Kabuto and nodded, signaling his turn to attack. Kabuto sprinted forward, withdrawing a kunai. Dokuja grabbed his sword from its case to defend him. Kabuto threw his kunai. Dokuja whipped his sword around, whacking the kunai away. He then sliced at Kabuto, as he ducked, and attempted to counter as each of them punched each other's fist simultaneously.

"Taijutsu isn't really one of my strong points, but…" Kabuto mocked. Dokuja kicked him in the jaw when he was off guard, sending him back a few feet as he made a few hand signs.

"Energy Clone Jutsu!" He shouted, as a bolt of red lightning struck Dokuja out of nowhere and smoke filled the horizon. Once it cleared, Kabuto was surrounded by hundreds of clones.

"You think this can stop me?" Kabuto filled another kunai and whip it at a clone to his left. It hit him in the heart, as red electricity, similar to the lightning bolt that came down earlier, started to surround his body. The cloned dissolved, and the energy spiked out forward, hitting Kabuto's lower left leg, bringing him to the ground.

_Ah, now I see what the child has up his sleeve. _Orochimaru thought. _When Kabuto hits one of the clones, it sends a small fraction of the lightning that came down and struck Dokuja earlier, towards where the attack came from, hitting the man that struck it. If you want to get out of this situation, you must hit the real one and the clones will disappear. However, the chances of that without a ocular jutsu like the Sharingan, are slim. That brat's a sly one, I have to admit._

"Now," One of Dokuja's clones muttered. All the clones clapped their hands together simultaneously.

"What is this?" Kabuto asked himself. He stared at the clones as they pulled their hands apart, revealing a neat, strait stream of red voltage. They brought their hands farther apart and the voltage floated midair as they each grabbed it in their right hand and took their aim. Kabuto panicked, throwing kunai in every direction at random clones all around, only to get hit by the effect of them.

"It's useless!" Another clone shouted, bracing himself to throw what he now wielded. "Lightning Style: Energy Spear Bombardment!" All the clones threw their weapons at him at the same time, as the impact of each went off and the dirt from the ground was picked up high into the sky. Once it was out of the line of sight, all what the clones could see was a bunch of pebbles lying on the ground. It was a Substitution Jutsu. The clones looked in all directions carefully to detect any presence of their fleeing opponent. One found him seconds later and pointed him out. But it was already too late. Kabuto already made the hand signs ending in a tiger seal. There was no question he was planning a Fire Style attack. As soon as Dokuja spot this he was already under a sea of burning carnage. The flames gorged through the army of clones in seconds.

_Kabuto pulled a risky move, _Tsunade thought. _If Dokuja was in that crowd, of course the jutsu would be called off. But if not he'll get hit by all those clones' energy in one shot._

The flames were clearing up. Kabuto was searching for Dokuja's body, but found nothing after several moments. In seconds after the fact an enormous cloud of energy spikes were coming straight for him. _No way! _He thought as he endured the blows that awaited him. They hit in several places. His arms, legs, head, gut, neck, everywhere at once. When the last one finally took its toll, he was sent flying backwards. Five more clones came up and one gave him a kick to the jaw, sending him higher into the air as the others came into position around him. The one that gave the first blow went higher up than the rest. The lowest down gave him a punch to the gut, sending him to the second one. The next gave him a roundhouse kick up to the third on the opposite side of him, witch gave him another up to the fourth, and the fourth gave an uppercut to his chin to the last. And finally the last gave a drop kick similar to Naruto's with his version.

"Dragons Barrage!" Dokuja shouted, as Kabuto was sent crashing into the ground. "I'm a lot better than you think I am."

"Enough, Dokuja!" Tsunade shouted. She calmed down with a heavy breath. "You take the real problem. I'll handle him from here on."

Dokuja looks at his new opponent. "This is it. This is the day where I bring him down and get her back… and no one is going to stop me!" He said to himself.

"If you want a fight boy, you've got one." Orochimaru croaked. "Come."


	8. The Sannin Showdown: Part II

A/N: My next chapter. Reeling in a lot quicker now. You should be really happy now.

_**Sannin Showdown: Part II**_

Dokuja drew out his sword and hand claw as he stared into the eyes of his rival, witch were narrower than ever in rage. _I knew I should have killed that brat when I had the chance all those years ago._ Orochimaru thought._ He was just a child, so he didn't seem like much of a threat when he broke loose and fled that day. But looking at it now, I should have. He's proving as the biggest thorn in my side yet. And with his mastery of skill, he's turning out to be much more of a nuisance than I predicted nearly ten years ago…_

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He thought back to the days where Dokuja was still his prisoner in an old hideout he had in the Land of the Sea. Dokuja was only four, but Orochimaru couldn't take any chances. Besides, the more test subjects he had, the better his chances of success. He was conducting horrifying experiments on Dokuja's clan, trying to unlock the secrets or the Doshingan, and to try and gain the power for himself. He failed countless times, causing the Amaratsu clan to fade away faster than they were captured. One night, Dokuja broke from his cell, and no one knows how he managed to get free from his cell, but Kabuto was the first to report it to his master.

"Lord Orochimaru!" He shouted as he almost broke the door down. "Urgent news!"

"What is it Kabuto?" He responded weakly. "And it better be good from the ruckus you're causing."

"The last Amaratsu has vanished from his cell!"

Orochimaru chuckled. "I knew this would happen sooner or later. That child is experiencing so much sorrow at such a young age. It's almost unbearable to watch. Almost."

"Quickly, just give me the order and we can send a search party to"-

"Let him go."

Kabuto couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What?"

"Having no family to be with and nothing to look forward to when he get's back home. The worst state of life to be in. Besides, he is just a child. He knows little, there are slim chances in his favor in finding his Village. He most likely won't make it back alive."

"But what about your research? Are you just going to throw it all away?"

"You do prove a point. If I tamper with these other bodies much longer I'll end up destroying the hope of getting the immense power of the Doshingan for myself. Very we"-

"No!!" A voice interrupted from the back corner of the room.

"Who's back there?" Orochimaru turned around to face where the voice came from. A young girl slowly emerged from the shadows. She was in her early teens, if not younger.

"Ah yes, Anko. I should've known that you'd be snooping around. Go ahead child. What is it?"

"I think we should let him go." Anko said, shaking nervously.

"And why do you say that?"

"Well, he's just a boy, so I thought he'd be through enough already after being captured for about a month. Maybe we could let him go and show mercy on him?"

"And why on earth would I want to do that?"

"Well, his Doshingan is only at the first state, so I thought we could let him loose for him to mature and get stronger before we did research studies on him."

"You do prove a point. It would be worthless just getting a fraction of the power now when in a few years I could have all of it in the palm of my hands."

"But," Kabuto interrupted. "If we let him go we risk losing it. Or worse, he may gather other ninja at his home village and send them to attack us here."

"I'm pretty sure that thought won't come to his mind." Anko continued. "He may be aware of our presence here, but he'd be too scared to come running back, in fact he may be afraid of us killing him if we spot him again. So he may take no action whatsoever."

"My Lord?" Kabuto picked up his glasses a little.

"It's a grave risk, but at the way she put's it, it seems as if it's worth it." Anko's face lit up at his words. "Tell the others to let him go."

Kabuto wasn't happy at this decision, and cursed Anko under his breath as he left the room.

Anko smiled. "Don't get too accustomed to me showing pity, my dear." Her master continued. "After all, I'm not that kind of man. But what I wonder is how he got loose in the first place. He's too small to be able to reach the keyhole or a key held on one of the guards when he was asleep."

"Maybe another member of his clan helped him?" Anko suggested.

"No, that isn't possible, we held each prisoner in separate cells. There's no way that could happen." Then Orochimaru turned to Anko as her eyes widened of surprise and fear. She was starting to sweat. "You turned him loose, didn't you, my child?"

Anko sighed. "Ever since he was captured, he didn't eat, let alone speak. He was creating a wall between him and the rest of the world, not caring about anything, even his own life as he was slowly dying of starvation."

"And you gave him a chance to live by setting him loose, giving him hope and confidence so he wouldn't die. That was a foolish decision, Anko. But, by turning him loose and preventing his death you gave me ore time to attempt and receive the unbelievable power of that Dojutsu. And by looking at the standards of the situation, it looks like you made a foolish, but yet wise choice. Very well. I'll just give you a slap on the wrist this time. But next time do not turn against my will."

*~*~*~*~*~*

_I should have killed him all those years ago, _Orochimaru thought, glaring at the problem he might not have if he sent out a search party as Kabuto requested. _If I did, this never would have happened. Then it looks like I'll just have to finish what I started! _Orochimaru darted at Dokuja in the blink of an eye with a sword sticking out of his opened mouth. Dokuja barely escaped the blow; he could almost count the number of scratches on the blade he was using. Turning to his opponent, he slammed his clenched fist, hand claw in tow, directly towards him. Orochimaru backed off as his sword went back down his throat. He lashed out his tongue towards his target. Dokuja didn't have enough time to dodge as it ringed his neck. Orochimaru outstretched his right hand as a small cloud of smoke appeared next to it, and a kunai revealed itself from the shrouding mist. He gripped it tightly as he came close to the target hanging in his flesh noose. _My troubles with you end here. Say your prayers to your clan, brat. You will see them soon, hopefully._

Dokuja kept seeing flashbacks of the nightmare at the hospital. _It's similar to that situation. It's no use. I'm finished… _Dokuja closed his eyes to meet his doom. He could hear a kunai fly through the air and pierce through flesh. But Dokuja was unharmed. He wasn't hit. He opened his eyes in response to being let go and hitting the ground. He could see Orochimaru's tongue cut clear through, and the end of it was oozing blood. Dokuja looked at himself, noticing the rest of it was still wrapped around his neck. He quickly threw it aside and gained distance from his opponent. He looked in all directions until he saw three people: Naruto, Shizune, and Jiraya found them, and was standing behind Tsunade; witch was shaking and covered in blood. Naruto waved his arms as a signal to come to where he was. Dokuja did swiftly, now standing by his partner's side.

"How did you find us?" Dokuja asked.

"You think we'd leave all the fun to you two? Yeah right!" Naruto responded. "Tonton showed us the way!"

"Yeah!" Hishumaru said, popping out from behind him. "And if he didn't, you'd be…" He drew a finger across his neck.

"Tsunade," Jiraya said, as Dokuja overheard. "that was foolish of you, leaving Orochimaru in the hands of a kid. What did you think that would accomplish? All you did was giving him fake hopes and rush him to his near death." Dokuja looked at both of them and saw in each of their eyes that they no longer believed in him. Even Naruto was losing confidence. He thought about the last time he attempted, how he failed. It's like it happened again, and this time he got absolutely nowhere. If he did get anywhere last time it was because of old man Third, not by his own hands. All he did was get in the way. He continued thinking and didn't even notice a snake coming out of the wound in Orochimaru's tongue, gripping the lost flesh in it's expandable jaw, and drawing it back, putting it in it's rightful place, and an acid came out from the small gap that was left, turning into new flesh and fixing his injury as he slipped it back inside his mouth. He leapt back next to his medical partner. Then he spoke, but Dokuja didn't hear it. He was too wrapped up in assorted nightmares and other issues.

_After all this time, nothing changed. _Dokuja thought. _I always fair miserably. I'll never get strong enough to beat him, let alone… _He thought about his comrade, and did his best not to shed any tears, but he could only hold back so much as some slipped down his face underneath his mask. _Damn it, what do I even live for anymore? I can't do anything right, and I never did. Why did Naruto save me? He should have left me to die, I'm worthless anyway. A lost cause. A failure. A- He_ stopped and noticed that Orochimaru was taking the bandage off his right arm, revealing the blackened flesh he earned in the last encounter. It had an odd tattoo in the middle part of his lower arm, and Kabuto was slipping blood onto it. He could tell it was a form of summoning. He wanted to react, but why bother? He was just going to fail again. So he just sat back and watched as a large cloud of smoke appeared in front of him, revealing two large snakes of similar size and color. Jiraya attempted to summon something as well, but all he got was a small orange toad, witch goes by the name of Gamakitchi. He cursed as Naruto tried the same thing, and ended up with another toad the same size, but this one was yellow and went by the name Gamatatsu. Dokuja could see that they were helpless in this situation, and even though he would most likely fail, he had to try something. So he stood and got into his stance, focusing his chakra as he did during his training. _I might not be strong enough to beat him, but I can at least deal with this. Come on, focus… _A few seconds past as his chakra was coming visible. Jiraya saw what he was doing first, and then everyone else looked. Dokuja's arm was completely white, and had odd apparitions of souls or ghosts or spirits, or whatever you'd want to call it, swirling around his arm as well. Orochimaru, surprisingly, stood in awe at this power. He was on top of one of the snakes heads, and Kabuto was on the other one.

"What is this ordeal?" He asked himself, as the chakra intensified.


	9. The Sannin Showdown: Part III

A/N: Well, here comes the next part of the battle of the Sannin. This one came slightly slower. Sorry about that, I've been busy.

_**Sannin Showdown, Part III**_

The chakra in Dokuja's arm was making the air thick and tense. Jiraya was impressed, Orochimaru was shocked, same with Shizune and Naruto, but Tsunade was pleased.

_Looks like he did it, _Tsunade thought. _This kid…there's more to him than meets the eye. He mastered something of such high skill in one week. But nobody knows a jutsu's true power until it's been used in battle._

_Looks like I was wrong about this kid…_ Jiraya thought as well, eyeballing his lit up arm.

_Whoa, _Naruto stood in awe.

_What's he planning? _Orochimaru asked himself. _Could it be all his chakra rotating together to make that color on his arm? No, there's something more. Even with all his chakra rotating it wouldn't be so intense unless he somehow merged and compacted it, focusing it at a high level. That must be right. But what will it accomplish?_

_This is it, _Dokuja thought, as his arm was gradually killing him, but he took no notice of it. _If this doesn't work, I'll most likely be a goner, but if it works, then I can take him down with me. _Dokuja was getting prepared to strike, putting his eyes on his target. Then he suddenly vanished in a string of light, leading upward as when it came close to Orochimaru, it exploded in a rainbow of colors flashing around as if they were small flickers or sparks all around them. Dokuja was revealed, arm still at the same color with the light blue-grey apparitions still swirling around aimlessly. Orochimaru's eyes narrowed and Kabuto had to cover his with an arm. They turned to each other and gave a faint nod, ready for anything coming their way. Thrusting his arm forward, it was no longer restrained.

"Haven Strike!" Dokuja cried out. He was about to hit Orochimaru, but he jumped out of the way the split second it would've collided with his flesh. Dokuja grinned, and Orochimaru didn't know what he was planning out in his head. Instead of hitting him, Dokuja's empowered palm hit the snake's head, as the chakra flooded through the air still in the same color. It shifted its shape into a perfect, white sphere, and you could no longer see Dokuja, Orochimaru, or Kabuto. Only the lower half of the summoning creatures, standing completely still. The soul apparitions swam freely around the ball of chakra, much larger than an average size summoning toad Jiraya uses, almost the size of Gamabunta.

"Damn it," Naruto said to himself. "I can't even see him anymore."

"This is unreal," Shizune stated.

"Awesome…" Hishumaru couldn't help but comment. A small stream started up diagonally from one of the sides of the orb, and it led up directly to the sun. One the soul apparitions drifted near this area they ran up the stream until they were out of sight. Once they all disappeared into the sky, the stream started to fade away until it completely vanished. The orb grew slightly larger than before, then shrunk about three fourths down before a massive explosion took its toll, causing high level winds to come around the area. Dokuja was sent tumbling into a rock witch he was standing near before. Naruto and Shizune along with Hishumaru came to his aid.

"Dang, that hurt." Dokuja said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm going to feel that one in the morning…"

"That was unreal!" Naruto commented.

"Yeah, just make sure you keep your bet, too." Dokuja replied, as the fiercest pain went through his arm, as he went to get the pills.

"Looks like you really can pack a punch. I'm telling ya, that was just plain enormous! You must've vaporized those two!"

"On the contrary…" A voice said in a cloud of smoke. It was Orochimaru and Kabuto, still intact.

"What the"-

"You really think that feeble thing can kill me?"Orochimaru cackled. "That barely even touched me!"

"I wasn't aiming for you." Dokuja interrupted, looking up as the two snake heads' came crashing down in between them.

"A clever move. Even I didn't see that coming."

"So that was your plan. Since Jiraya and Naruto couldn't summon anything, you took away their advantage by killing those snakes." Hishumaru said, turning to Dokuja.

"Shizune, tend to his wounds." Tsunade said, standing up again, once the blood was wiped off. "That blow must've taken a lot out of him, and his arms, even after the pill he took, will still need some tending to."

"Yes, milady." Shizune said, making a few hand signs.

"Naruto," Jiraya said. Naruto responded by looking over to him. "I'll let you handle four eyes over there."

_This is so frustrating, being immobilized like this… _Dokuja thought, as Shizune used her medical jutsu on his arm. He used his other arm to pull out the bag of food pills that Enma gave him a while back. Shizune took a look, realizing what it was quickly, letting him take it as she finished up.

"That should do it." Shizune stood up, but Dokuja just looked around, thinking where he'd be most effective: trying to take on Orochimaru after he lost already, or helping Naruto with someone that was in an entirely different league. He stood slowly, drawing his sword and making a few hand signs. He slammed his blade into the dirt, kept a hand on it, and made a hand sign with the other. Shizune could feel the blades moving underground, heading towards Kabuto.

"Wind Style: Bladed Twister Jutsu!" Dokuja shouted, as the ground under Kabuto's feet was blown apart, revealing both of the controlled blades in a spiraling motion, on the opposite side of each other, moving in opposite directions. Kabuto was startled as the force of the wind created by the blades and the chakra in them threw him into the air, cutting him in numerous, though none fatal. Once it was finished, Kabuto hit the ground hard. Five black blazes surrounded him, and started to circle around him, closing in. "Fire Style: Flaming Rose Jutsu!" The blaze enlarged in a tornado of fire. It cleared in a few seconds, but Dokuja saw nothing to lead that Kabuto was present. The ground under Dokuja's face broke, revealing one of Kabuto's hands. Dokuja tried to evade him, but Kabuto grabbed him by the back of his neck and threw him to the ground face first, keeping him there as he withdrew a knife from his pouch.

"It looks like that jutsu back there took out a lot of your stamina." Kabuto said, mockingly. "And that's what led you to your death. Say your prayers kid. It ends now! Now, I want to see the look on your face when you finally meet your clan again." Dokuja's fist tightened as Kabuto ripped off his mask and tossed it aside. Naruto could barely watch what was happening, frozen stiff from shock and fear. Kabuto raised his knife. "I thought it would be a pain taking two Sannin and you, but now at least I got one down!" Kabuto went for the kill, but something stopped him. His hand was restrained with something, but Naruto wasn't anywhere near him. No one was. He looked at his left hand, and was amazed and shocked at the same time. A hand made of dirt and rock was clutching his wrist, preventing movement. _What- what the hell? _He thought, as a second hand sprouted out of the ground near Dokuja's head, gripping his throat, making him drop his weapon. Then both hands grabbed him and threw him off of his would-be victim. Dokuja stood up. Then he looked back at his opponent. That's when Kabuto saw it. Dokuja's eyes were different. Instead of the usual black surrounding of a red triangle shape down the center of his eye, it was now purple, darker than his blade's color. He was using second state Doshingan. Naruto was as shocked as Kabuto was. Seeing the terrifying look in Dokuja's eyes was giving him chills. He looked down, finding Dokuja's mask next to his right foot. He picked it up and held it in his left hand. He then continued to watch his friend fight.

"Don't…ever…threaten me…" Dokuja said, in a deeper, more threatening voice than usual.

Kabuto chuckled. "You sound just as pathetic as you move. How did you live when you escaped our confinement?" Naruto was shocked at his last sentence. "I mean really, there's no way a freaking four year old could survive in the wild on they're own. You didn't even know where to go. It was sheer luck that kept you alive."

"Shut up!" Dokuja shouted furiously as another rock hand sprouted at his feet, balled into a fist and launched itself at Kabuto, with no hope of evading the blow. He took a blow to the gut as he flew backwards and the hand disappeared into the dirt beneath him. Kabuto gave another chuckle.

"Just as I thought. The only reason you even want to take on Orochimaru is to get that friend of yours back, isn't it?"

"Where is she?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but she isn't here."

"Then you will tell me where she is."

"Why would I tell a man any information of the sort when he'll die when he learns about it?"

"I'm warning you."

"You couldn't ever dream of getting it out of me."

Dokuja starts forward. "I wouldn't bet on that." Four more hands sprung out of the ground behind Kabuto. The two in the front grabbed his ankles. The back two stretched higher out of the ground and grabbed both of his arms. "Go ahead Naruto. Show him what you've been working on recently."

Naruto only nodded, stepping towards his target. He used one of his hands to get the chakra going in his other hands, witch held it. It wasn't perfected yet, but he got the basics down. Kabuto struggled to get free, cracking one of the hands that was holding his left leg down. He continued squirming until he was almost free, as Naruto started to throw the ball of rotating chakra at him. Kabuto broke the hands in seconds time, jumping out of the way, barely avoiding Naruto's blow, and equipping a chakra scalpel, hitting one of his legs, preventing quick motion.

_Damn, I can't believe he got free that fast! _Dokuja cursed.

Tsunade looked troubled, and Kabuto started towards her. Naruto stood slowly, and surprisingly got in front of him before he made much ground, even with his severed leg. He then made a clone of himself as they stood side by side. Kabuto had a knife equipped and was now charging at him. He stabbed at him, and it went right through one of Naruto's hands, as he clenched down on his hand, again restraining him from dodging, this time certainly. Naruto held out his free hand and the clone was using both hands to gather the chakra. _Impressive. _Dokuja thought, looking in awe at the skill he mastered, just barely in time for the bet. Naruto struck directly into Kabuto's gut, sending him crashing into a rock, making a huge crater in the side of it. Then Naruto fell to the ground. Tsunade came to his aid, starting her specialty in medical jutsu. Kabuto was still standing, wounded, but standing. Dokuja took this opportunity to try out something he just came up with on the spot. He made hands out of the rock behind Kabuto, as he appeared right in front of him.

"Don't forget your original opponent!" Dokuja shouted, as the completely rock- hands grabbed all of his limbs again, and Dokuja made a new hand sign sequence. He thrusted his arm down, similar to Sasuke's method. A spiraling channel of black chakra matching the Rasengan on the inside, and red electricity to match the Chidori on the outer layer. An ultimate technique.

_That's impossible! How could he still have chakra?!!? _Kabuto thought, as the new jutsu raged.

"Diving Phoenix!" Dokuja shouted, as the jutsu was almost ready to strike.


	10. The Sannin Showdown: Part IV

A/N: Yeah, coming a little slower now. That's because I'm working on another new story. Check it out later!

_**Sannin Showdown: Part IV**_

Dokuja, with his new jutsu in tow, kept his arm down as the inner segment rotated violently and the outer layer grew in size gradually. Once everything was at max, Dokuja thrusted it into Kabuto's lower gut, at an upward slanted angle. Small amounts of blood went left and right as He was sent flying high into the sky. Kabuto was thrown out of the chakra, witch still lingered in midair.

_What is this jutsu's game? _Tsunade thought, still tending to Naruto. The mass of red and black chakra was shifting shape. It took the impersonation of a bird, red on the edges and on the eyes, black everywhere else. Kabuto's eyes widened.

_What the hell?!!? _He thought, as the bird flew into his chest, sending him to the ground in seconds. Tsunade was still tending to Naruto, almost in tears.

Kabuto cackled. "That's right. I severed the connection from his heart and chakra network. I cut him off from getting any help from the…demon. The Nine-Tailed Fox." Dokuja overheard, and now he was furious, getting the entire picture. Kabuto struck at Naruto's heart when he was hit by the Rasengan. He grabbed him with four more earth- hands, each getting a limb.

"If he dies, you die, you hear me?" Dokuja remarked.

"Then you might as well kill me now. He's as good as dead." Kabuto gave another wicked chuckle. Dokuja's eyes were wide with rage. He slowly sprouted another hand around Kabuto's mid back and raised him into the air. In a few more seconds he made the fifth hand come up and the rest of the hands pull him down, causing a large crack in Kabuto's back. It knocked him out cold. He looked back to Naruto. And he saw something. _Naruto was breathing! _Dokuja was relieved, until he saw a glimpse of Orochimaru fly past him, a sword sticking out of his mouth. He had no choice but to act, but he was too slow to react. He was going for Naruto. He saw blood fly through the air, but it wasn't Naruto's. It was Tsunade's. She took the blow for Naruto. He lost focus as Orochimaru took another slash, cutting Tsunade yet again. She was trembling, but after a few seconds, it stopped. She overcame her fear of blood. She gave Orochimaru a shot to the face as she stood.

"I finally remembered something." She began. "I was chosen…as the Fifth Hokage! She started to glow and markings appeared all over here. Dokuja found his mask hanging out of Naruto's pocket. He swiftly got it with an earth- hand and withdrew it to himself, slipping it on. He could see that Tsunade was preparing for a Summoning Jutsu. Jiraya was as well. Orochimaru was with Kabuto and he was getting prepared for the same thing.

"This is it." Dokuja said to himself. A large cloud of smoke came over the horizon, revealing a large snake, an enourmous slug, and Gamabunta. Hishumaru flew over next to Dokuja.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He said, flying in circles around his head. "You going to join them?" Dokuja looked up at Jiraya, then Tsunade. She gave a signal, allowing him to join. Dokuja wasted no time, getting some blood that was on his suit and wiping it on his right hand. Then he made hand signs.

"You're right. I won't stand by! Not today!" Dokuja said, thrusting his hand down on the soil as an illustration began to show itself. "Summoning Jutsu!" Another large cloud of smoke came over the land.

_This kid still has chakra!??! _Orochimaru thought as the smoke blurred his vision. A large dragon came out of the smoke. It looked similar to Hishumaru, but it was larger and had enormous wings and red illustrations all over its body. It flew over the other creatures, smoke coming from his mouth.

"Thanks for coming Shinumaru!" Dokuja said, standing with his arms crossed on the beast's head.

"There are three targets," Shinumaru responded, looking over the land. "Is there any on our side?"

"The toad and the slug are with us. Aim for the snake."

"That's no fun, there's only one I get to chew this time around. And I really got an appitite…"

"Sorry, but I think this guy will be rather delicious, don't you think?"

"Yeah…" The dragon licked its lips at the thought, spitting out smoke. He flew in circles over the other three combatants. They stood very still for several moments as Hishumaru joined Dokuja and Shinumaru. Out of the blue they started to fight. The slug spat out slime, witch melted a rock. The snake wrapped around the slug, jaws bared. Dokuja thought about something to do, and then he remembered back when Guy showed up, giving him Kakashi's gift: the chakra gloves! Dokuja didn't know what to do with them yet, but he tried it anyway. He charged chakra into his hand, made a fist, and acted like he was punching something. Sure enough, a black, fist-shaped ball of chakra shot out of his hand and hit the snake's skin. He giggled a little, then went in an all out frenzy of punches, starting in a storm of chakra projectiles, bombarding the purple summoning animal. It twitched a little, then turned to the dragon.

"That brat's annoying…" It said, lunging at the dragon, but it missed by a few feet and came back down gently. It tried again, and it was on target. Dokuja accidentally held his fist in place, but instead of just a ball of chakra, a stream of chakra came out of his hand, making the eye of the violet beast sizzle in pain. It jerked away and yelled in pain. "My eye! You'll pay for that, damn morsel!"

"Now I think you made him mad." Hishumaru commented.

"You think?" Dokuja asked, sarcastically. The slug separated into many smaller slugs and slithered away. The snake watched for a second, and then ducked, dodging the toad's blade.

"Time for some oil, Bunta!" Jiraya said, making some hand signs.

"You got it!" The toad responded, getting a little bulgy around the stomach and cheeks.

"Here we go…" Dokuja said, giving a signal to Shinumaru to help out as it took a deep breath.

"Fire Style: Toad Flame Bombs!" Jiraya shouted, spitting fire out of his mouth and oil came out of the toads, and, well, you know what happens when they mix.

"Fire Style: Twin Beast Inferno!" Dokuja shouted, as Shinumaru blew out a large amount of fire on his own, mixing with Jiraya's jutsu, cooking the snake to a crisp, but both of them stopped when they saw just a thin layer of old skin burning in the flames. Then something came out of the ground in front of them. It was just the tail, but the toad blocked it anyway, not knowing what it was. The head came out of the ground behind them, but Tsunade expected this, grabbing the sword of the toad and thrusting it into the snake's jaw, pinning it down.

"Hey Shinumaru, you know what to do." Dokuja said, making a hand sign.

"Roger!" Shinumaru shouted.

"Ready!" Hishumaru yelped with excitement. Shinumaru started spinning in a circle rapidly going in a direction so the edges faced up and down, facing the rest of the combatants in the fight. Then a large portal like purple and black vortex took its place. Shinumaru dove right in without hesitating, taking Dokuja and Hishumaru with him. They were no longer in sight. Everyone else gazed at it, wondering what was coming next. Orochimaru especially. Then, unexpectedly, a large, black dragons' foot came out of it and everyone's eyes widened in terror or shock. Then another foot came out, then a head. It had a long neck, beaming red eyes without a pupil, and sharp, blood stained fangs. A second head came out in the imitation of the first, then a third, and each roared demonically. Then the body started coming out of the vortex. It was longer than the summoned snake. It had four wings on it's back, and four more feet were also with it. The end split into two tails, each had a point like an arrow head at the end. The entire body had purple and red illustrations all over it. One head breathed black fire from it's throat. The other two snapped wildly. They caught a glimpse of Orochimaru and glared at him, eyes narrowing. The head in the middle reached out at him, but it missed, then the other two did the same, and achieved the same result. The dragon then leaped into the air. It's wings made it soar high above the battle and one of the heads started to breathe fire at Kabuto, hitting his back, burning his shirt. The other two aimed at Orochimaru, only to skim one of his arms. Tsunade jumped out of nowhere and started to pound him frantically. Then the three headed beast started to glow an eerie red, as it changed back into Shinumaru, Hishumaru, and Dokuja. They landed with a crash of Shinumaru's feet. All of them were breathing heavily. Hishumaru went out cold and was in Dokuja's arms.

"Time for me to go kid. Good luck with the rest!" Shinumaru said, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Tsunade was finished with the beat down, and the snake also disappeared. And Orochimaru was panting heavily with Kabuto, but still standing.

"Tsunade…" He started, still breathing roughly. "You refuse to heal my arms, do you? Very well then…There is one other way…" Tsunade's eyes widened for an unknown reason. "Soon, I will show you what it means to be…truly immortal!" Orochimaru started seeping through the ground. Dokuja could recall all of the horrible times he failed to bring him down, and this was no different. He tried to move, but he was out of chakra. He couldn't move. If he really tried, he'd fall over and wouldn't wake up for days. However, he did anyway, falling over. Kabuto smirked at him.

"We'll meet again." He said, making hand signs and disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Dokuja's nightmares were flashing through his head, almost non stopping. He then lost consciousness.

"Well, he did rather well, didn't he?" Tsunade asked.

"I have to admit, that kid pulled a lot out today. And there's more to him than meets the eye. Maybe the rumors are true after all."

"Let's get him back to the village for treatment. He could be out for days."

"You're right. He probably has a burnt out chakra network and maybe a few other injuries."

"Then let's not waste any time and get moving."


	11. A New Dawn: The Deadly Assassin

A/N: Here's the next chapter. And check out my new story, Bond Paths, if you get bored. O.K., here we go…

Dokuja woke p in the hospital from another nightmare similar to last time. This time there wasn't any windows- they learned better from last time! - and Dokuja found his mask on the table next to him. He slipped it on when the door opened, revealing Tsunade and Shizune, along with Tonton.

"Good Morning." Tsunade said, shutting the door behind her. Dokuja turned away, remembering what happened. "You were out for four days straight."

"A new record for you!" Shizune said, giving him a thumbs up. Tsunade glared at her and she shut up.

"Look, there wasn't any way you could have brought her back. Especially if she wasn't there."

Dokuja looked away. Shizune spoke up. "Although, you came pretty close and kept your end of Tsunade's bet. It's impressive to say the least." Tonton yelped in agreement.

"Even Jiraya was impressed." Tsunade continued. "You should be proud of yourself."

"How can I be proud if I failed for a second time, and for the same reasons?" Dokuja backfired, turning to Tsunade, meeting her gaze.

"It can't really be a failure if she wasn't there." Shizune commented. "So why bring yourself down over it?" Dokuja's gaze grew fiercer.

"Get out." Shizune obeyed his wishes and opened the door, starting to leave. Tsunade went behind her.

"Leave whenever you please." Tsunade said, shutting the door. Dokuja turned to grab his things and dismiss himself. He found the picture of him and Markue-Rae on the end stand next to him. He almost cried when he packed up and left. On his way back, he spotted Sakura coming down the road.

"Oh, you're out already?" Sakura asked, stopping in front of him.

"Yeah, and I had a pretty rude dismissal from Tsunade and Shizune."

"You do know she's the Fifth Hokage now, right?"

"And I care why?"

"Well, you should probably call her that now."

"Does it really matter that much?"

"I guess not, but still…." A messenger came from the buildings above them.

"Dokuja, The Fifth Hokage has a mission for you. She wishes to see you now."

"Whatever." Dokuja mocked, leaping away to where she'd be. The messenger left as well.

_She maters that much to him? _Sakura thought, watching them leave, not moving at all.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Tsunade was writing on a scroll, Shizune standing behind her.

"You think it was a good idea to give him the mission?" Shizune asked. Tsunade put her brush down.

"Dokuja's strong. A master of stealth and assassination. However, after the last two 'failures' as he puts it, he lost almost all of his confidence. I believe this mission will give that back to him."

"But it's an A-rank assassination! Do you expect him to fare well when it's been probably close to a year that he did something like this?"

"It will be even longer the more we wait, so might as well have him adapt to it now then later." Shizune was about to say something as the door was kicked open.

"What is it this time?" Dokuja asked, stepping through the opened door.

"It seems that you're a little anxious." Tsunade commented.

"Yeah, just give me the details so I can go."

"Show some respect!" Shizune shouted.

"So now that crosses your mind? It should have about an hour ago." Shizune stopped talking.

"This mission is an A-rank assassination. You will be hunting down this man in the Land of Bears in the Village Hidden in the Stars." Tsunade said, holding up a picture of the man. He had silver hair, medium built, green eyes, white skin, and a scar across his forehead. "He was said to cause a public disturbance, trying to take something very valuable to them, and now they want him dead. You will have a guide escort you there and give you any information you may need."

"And who might this guide be?" Dokuja crossed his arms.

"Enter!" A door to Dokuja's right slides open, revealing a girl, not much older than Dokuja is. She was a brunette, light skin, brown eyes, about Dokuja's height, and she had a headband signaling she was a ninja from the Star Village.

"This is him?" She said. "I expected a professional, not some costumed rookie." In a mere blink of an eye, the door shut behind her, the curtains in the back of the room swung open, and the doors Dokuja entered were slammed shut and he disappeared.

"You were saying?" Dokuja was hanging upside down from the ceiling from a thread behind his guide.

"I will tell you now, Dokuja is no rookie. In fact, out of all of our ninja, for this mission, he's your best bet." Tsunade commented. "You have two hours to pack up and set out, got it Dokuja?"

"Yes ma'am." Dokuja disappeared, scaring his guide again.

"I take back that comment. Who is that kid?" The guide asked, curiously.

"Have you heard on what happened to the Amaratsu clan?"

"Yes, it goes all over the place. A great clan in the Cloud Village. They were taken by Orochimaru in wicked experiments for him to unlock their powers. It was heard one four- year old managed to escape, but my village doesn't know about what happened to him."

"It was a brutal time for the kid in that horrifying prison."

"What? That was…and he… How'd he get here to serve the Leaf Village?"

"You will have to ask him about it. If he wants to tell you, that is. Sometimes he holds it off for months before telling a person he met. Sometimes he gets it over with on the spot. It depends if he trusts you and thinks you're ready. Speaking of which, you might want to meet him by the exit of our village. He'll meet you there."

"Right." The guide gave a nod, leaving the room.

"So that's why you chose him." Shizune said.

"This guide looks a lot like that Markue-Rae person, doesn't she?" Tsunade stood, and looked out the window behind her.

"If that was her in the picture."

"Believe me, that was her."

"Do you think this strategy will work get his confidence back?"

"Hopefully. He's already lost mostly everything. If he loses his confidence…He'll most likely have nothing left to look forward to, ending up ending it himself."

"And his valuable skills can help us take down one of our biggest threats to the village."

"That's right. With him gone, we might not have any hope for another attack from Orochimaru."

"Well, hopefully you're right. I can't stand him being like this. Disrespectful, shunning everything, believing in no one, including himself. It's simply heartbreaking."

"Well, he had it rough. I don't blame him for the way he's acting. Nobody can."

*~*~*~*~*~*

About five minutes before Dokuja had to leave, he started out of his house, geared up and ready for the travel that would take him about two to three days. He found his guide walking down the street. He caught up to her.

"Isn't this a coincidence." Dokuja said, walking by his guide's side.

"Yeah, ironic timing. I don't think we've been properly introduced. My name is Narami. I already know yours." Narami held her hand out. Dokuja shook it respectfully.

"So, just wondering, if you come from a shinobi village, why hire someone from another village? Wouldn't it save money if you did it yourself?"

"Our village isn't very powerful. We have a certain kind of training going on that usually kills whoever tries it. My parents refused me top take that training, so the village had me do normal training like what you do here. We don't have many shinobi that can do missions this high in rank, so we hire people from here."

"I see… What kind of training is it?"

"That I'll tell you when we get there. I noticed you're not packed with a tent or anything. Are you sure that's a smart move?"

"I have a different method of travel…" They were outside the village gates. Dokuja took his right glove off, bit his thumb hard, getting some blood from it and made some hand signs.

"I like your style…" Narami did the same as he did. They both shouted in unison

"Summoning Jutsu!" A large cloud of smoke covered them. Dokuja was on a medium sized dragon, and Narami was on a similar sized bird. The dragon looked similar to Hishumaru, just had some black details around his skin and red wings. Narami's bird was an elegant white color, with light yellow in certain areas. They looked at each other and smiled.

"It's been a while since you summoned me, Dokuja." The dragon said.

"Yeah, I should try to do it more often, shouldn't I Sharimaru?"

"Hey, where's Markue-Rae? And where are we?" Sharimaru said, looking left and right.

"I didn't tell you?"

"Uh, no."

"I guess I'll let you listen in when I tell our client…" Dokuja looked to his right.

"So what's the mission this time?"

"A- rank assassination."

"That should be fun."

"Are you going to introduce me?" Narami asked, giggling at the two of them.

"Sharimaru, meet Narami, our guide and client of this mission. She's going to fly ahead of us, and you're going to follow her. We can take a break later when it get's dark or the weather turns bad."

"Got it!"

"Well, you're the guide. Lead the way!"

"Okay, let's get back to the Star Village!" She pointed a finger forward, and the bird flew in that direction. Sharimaru followed, as ordered.

_Brings back memories, _Dokuja thought, seeing many times that he did this with Markue-Rae. _I think me and her are going to be life-long friends. No doubt about it._


	12. A New Dawn: The Deadly Assassin Part II

A/N: Had writers block for awhile. Here's the next chapter…

Dokuja and Narami arrived in the Star Village after a few hours of flight. They landed just over a gorge.

"That gorge is filled with a venomous gas." Narami noted. "A few seconds of breathing it in would kill you."

"Thanks for the info." Dokuja said. Both of their summoned creatures disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"The village is just over that hill" Narami pointed towards it. It was just ahead.

"Then we should get going. The sooner this one guys dead, the better." Dokuja looked at the picture of the man he was to track down.

"His name's Minohoshi, a crime lord that resigns in the Land of Bears. He's been trying to steal an important artifact of this village's power for a few months now. We held him back from it for this amount of time, but I'm afraid he became too strong and teamed up with other shinobi to get what he wants. That's why you're here."

"You want me to kill him before he takes this thing?"

"Correct. We heard from a reliable source that he's going to attempt to rob us again in the next two weeks."

"That's enough time for me to get to him and finish him off."

"He lives in a tower east of this village, and its swarming with guards. He lives on the top floor. You need to pass by the guards and get to his room as fast as possible."

"Couldn't I just climb the side of the building? That makes it easy."

"Unfortunately, he's got spotlights all over the exterior of the tower all night long, and guards to go with them. You'll need to sneak inside."

"Now that's more like it!"

"We can use my place as a home base for now. Try and finish it quickly. Or it might just doom our village to destruction."

"Okay then, I'll map out a strategy to get to the top and finish him off afterwards. Want his head, or do you prefer the skeleton?" Dokuja mocked.

"Very funny."

"What? Trying to lighten the mood."

"Here we are…" Narami and Dokuja were now at the top of the hill, looking down on the village. It was filled with trees and had a few houses and a crater site over to the left of it.

"Nice place." Dokuja said, looking around.

"It's a peaceful village. Not much conflict here. Like I said, we don't have many shinobi, so none of the other lands fight with us."

"Well, except for that Minohoshi guy."

"True, but he won't be a threat in a few days.

"True to that. So we might as well get ready. Do you have a floor plan of that tower of his?"

"It's at my house."

"Well it won't help if we stay here then, now will it?"

"Let's get moving. I can get some food if you wish."

"That would be nice, thank you."

"Well, here we go then…" Narami darted ahead, Dokuja on her tail. They arrived at the house in a few minutes. Narami unlocked the door and showed Dokuja where he would sleep and got the floor plans for him. It wasn't too fancy, but was rather high. At least fifteen stories. There was an elevator going straight to the top, but you needed a key to get inside. Dokuja decided he'd just take the stairs and not risk it. Each staircase was at the end of each hall on all floors. There was a note on the bottom of the plans that there are at least five guards on shift for each floor.

"This is going to be fun. Mind if I take the entire tower down while I'm at it?" Dokuja asked.

"Be my guest." Narami giggled. "It'll be a nice bonus for the village."

"I'll bet." Dokuja took out a pen and mapped out his route.

_**Two days later…**_

Dokuja mapped out his strategy and route and was ready to strike tonight. Narami was to escort him to where the tower was, and then stay in hiding while Dokuja did his job. They were ready to set out and they left the house, geared up and ready to go.

"Well, I guess this is it." Narami said, a little shaky.

"Yeah, I guess so." Dokuja replied, putting his sword on his back.

"You think we'll ever see each other again after this is over?"

"Positive, as long as you have more people trying to steal that star and you want me to get rid of them." (They talked to each other over the past two days. Dokuja told her his past as well) Dokuja started out the door, Narami coming out behind him.

"I hope so."

"Me too."

"Well, I'm glad we met. Now we can be friends."

"Yeah, the only good thing to come out of this guys plot." Dokuja laughed.

"We might as well get moving. It won't help if we stand here."

"True. Lead the way!" They both darted off to the eastern part of the Land of Bears.

*~*~*~*~*~*

They arrived close to the tower after about an hour of running. "Well, good luck."

"Just stay down. I'll be out before you know it!"

"Be careful…" Narami vanished, leaving Dokuja to do the dirty work.

_Here we go… _Dokuja thought, vanishing in a blink of an eye as well. The guards at the front of the building were talking to each other. Dokuja could listen in from where he was standing.

"The boss is going to be so strong after he gets that star for himself!" One of the guards said, as Dokuja drew out a smoke bomb.

"Yeah! And then our reputations will go through the roof!" The other guard said. "I wonder what will happen afterwards though…"

"Same here. It's something that's on all our minds." A smoke bomb came out from the distance. "Hey, who's"- The smoke bomb went off, knocking them both out. Dokuja snuck past them and into the tower. There were five guards posted, just like the floor plan stated. Dokuja climbed on the ceiling using chakra, sticking to the shadows, sneaking past the bunch of them and onward to the next floor. He went to open the door, but it was locked, and he needed a key. He assumed the guards had one, so he went back and grabbed another smoke bomb and a large canvas with strings attached. He threw the smoke bomb down. One of the guards pointed it out.

"Guys, we have a"-the smoke covered them and Dokuja made his move. He swiftly moved, slipping the canvas under all of them and drawing his sword. Once he was safely hidden the smoke cleared, and the guards haven't moved. Just then all of their heads came off and Dokuja pulled on the strings, keeping the corpses tied in there and making sure no blood hit the floor, leaving no evidence. He took the keys from one of the guards and went back to open the door. Then Dokuja pulled out a tag and put it on one of the main beams holding up the tower and went up to the next floor, still on the ceiling. There were more guards this time. At least seven. Dokuja again raised his sword and slit all their throats at once, not caring about the evidence he left behind. He'd be done before they realized he was there. Just then the door behind him opened and he jumped back on the ceiling.

"Hey guys, I got the food!" He said, then seeing the corpses on the ground. He would've screamed if he didn't get hit by Dokuja's kunai in between the eyes.

_That was way too close. I've got to be more careful next time…_ Dokuja thought, hiding the corpses in case there were any more guards heading this way as he went back up to the next door and upward to through the others, after setting another tag. He no longer cared about killing the guards, only getting passed them. He can hide from them with ease, so it didn't matter if they died or not. He reached the top floor and found two guards standing at the last door between him and his prey. He had to deal with them, and quickly. He would use shuriken, but that might be detected. He thought about using jutsu, but that would be noisy. He couldn't use his sword either. That's when it hit him. There was a stone statue on either side of the room. He raised his mask, revealing his eyes, and sprouted two hands from each statue, strangling the two guards until they died. He then went into the room swiftly, making sure he wouldn't get caught by his target.

"Huh, who's there?" His target was getting scared. "I demand you show yourself!" The door slammed. The windows shut. The lights went out. All simultaneously. Dokuja made his move, stabbing a kunai through the man's heart. He was dead. Dokuja jumped through the window, shattering the glass. He alerted the guards outside, but he was already gone by the time they reached the room. Dokuja caught up with Narami on a tree not too far from the tower.

"Ready for the fireworks?" Dokuja asked her.

"Fire away!" She responded. Dokuja made a hand sign as the so called tower blew to pieces by the tags he set earlier. Then they both fled the scene back to the village.

*~*~*~*~*

"You did rather well. There was no evidence left to lead to us or you after the explosion. Good work!" Narami commented, as Dokuja was summoning his dragon to take him back to the Leaf Village.

"Aw, it was nothing…" Dokuja said, acting modest.

"Come back soon, you hear?" Narami asked.

"I'll try. And take care of yourself!"

"I will!" Narami waved as Dokuja flew through the skies after a mission accomplished.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"So the mission was successful?" Tsunade asked, back in her office, questioning Dokuja after the mission.

"A clean sweep!" Dokuja replied, now boasting.

"Very good. Your bonus…" Tsunade held out a small bag filled with cash. "Keep up the good work. Take a break for awhile. I'll have someone notify you for a new mission after a few days."

"Yup. I'll be ready!" Dokuja left the room.

"Well Dokuja's attitude certainly changed after that mission, didn't it?" Shizune commented.

"I told you, didn't I?" Tsunade mocked.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Dokuja took it easy for about three days. It was morning and Dokuja just geared up for the next day when someone came knocking at his door. He could hear someone yelling at him through the door.

"Hey Dokuja, you in there?" It was Shikimaru. "I've got a mission for you. And it's urgent."

Dokuja opened the door. "Yeah?"

"This is a big one, and Tsunade requested I bring you along. Sasuke left the village last night. Grab your stuff and let's go get some more recruits. I have another man requested for this mission as well, so I'll swing by his place and come back here. Be ready by the time I get back."


	13. Sasuke's Betrayl Part I

A/N: Going a little slow recently. Sorry about that. Anyway, here's the next chapter…

Dokuja came out the door as Shikimaru stood with a bag sitting next to him.

"Kakashi saw him yesterday and we checked that area for anything and we found this," He handed Dokuja the bag. "It matched the colors of that suit you're wearing, so we figured it might belong to you or mean something."

"I wonder what it is…" He pulled out a black cape with a red outline around the edge, and a purple symbol that stood for 'dragon'. "This is my fathers, but how did it get here?"

"That brings up the reason you're being sent on this mission. Not just because you dealt with Orochimaru a lot more than the rest of us, but because you have a sub-mission while we're out there."

"Come again?"

"We have reasons to believe that friend of yours was also a part of this incident."

Dokuja's eyes lit up. "And you want me to bring her back along with Sasuke?"

"Correct. Why don't you put that thing away so we can round up the rest of the recruits we can?"

"Understood." Dokuja threw it on the couch and ran out the door with Shikimaru down town, towards Naruto's house. They arrived shortly and knocked on the door. Naruto was still asleep when they got there. He came to the door groggy as ever. Shikimaru gave him the details and Naruto woke right up.

"No way! You got to be kidding!" Naruto shrieked at the top of his lungs. Shikimaru had to plug an ear.

"You just woke up and you're already this annoying?" Shikimaru said, groaning as Naruto ran back into the house and got dressed. He came back out fully clothed and then the group went to another house on the other side of the village. Shikimaru knocked on the door numerous times, but there was no answer. "Well, plan B, I guess…" He pulled out a bag of chips and opened them.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"There BBQ flavored. Feel free to help out." The two of them continued snacking down while Dokuja thought about his long lost comrade and what to do when the time comes. They finished everything but one last chip that fell onto Shikimaru's hand. He held it out towards the door. "Now." Choji opened the door and charged out to snag the last chip.

"Even for a bag of potato chips, I refuse to let anyone have the last bite!" He said.

"Choji and I were teammates for a long time. We work well together so asking him is a no brainer." Shikimaru said.

"What?!" Naruto shouted. Choji grinned. Something came towards Choji. He looked at the chip in his hand.

"Not in your life!" Choji yelled, gulping down the last bite. The figure was Akamaru, now depressed that he missed a snack. Kiba wasn't too far behind him. Shikimaru started talking again when Dokuja trailed off in his head. He came back to humanity when the others started to the village gate. He sped up to catch them when they ran into Lee and Neji. They came down and they started talking again. Apparently Lee wasn't going due to his injuries. Neji was, however. They arrived at the village gates and Dokuja finally started to pay attention.

"Alright, in this mission we'll be in the position of pursuit. Therefore we'll go in a Single File Strike formation. And If you don't listen to me exactly, we're all gonna die." A short silence. "Alright, the first one in line, Kiba, you're up front. Your sense of smell can help tip us off when a trap has been set. And Akamaru with you will back up your decision. Plus two sets of eyes in front will help us greatly. The second in line will be yours truly. Since I am, I'll be able to react quickly when Kiba spots something. Plus I can direct everyone behind me with silent hand signals, enhancing our effectiveness. Third in line will be Naruto. From what I seen in you're files, you're quick on your toes, able to react to an attack from in front or behind. Also, you have the Shadow Clone Jutsu, allowing you to send them in different directions, perfect for avoiding sneak attacks. Next in line will be Dokuja. Since that sword of yours can go in different directions, you can also react from multiple directional attacks. And your mastery of jutsu can really be handy sine there will be an even defense from behind and in front, giving you times to prepare something. That's why you'll be the second wave of our assault. Fifth in the line will be Choji. You may not have any speed, but your striking power is stronger than the rest of the group. You'll be the final wave of our assault. That leaves you, Neji. With you're Byakugan, you can look behind you without turning around or stopping. A key advantage in this situation. Now take a look at this…" He started drawing on a piece of paper. "This diagram will show what part of the perimeter you're responsible for. Kiba watch the front, I have a wider forward view, Naruto's got the left, Dokuja has above and below, Choji the right, and Neji, using your Byakugan, you'll cover the entire rear of the convoy. Okay, now I think I should familiarize myself with our arms and weaponry. I'll have to see the ninja tools you plan on carrying into battle. That way I'll know what we have. Any questions?" Naruto shook his head. Dokuja noticed Lee standing behind him. "But there is one thing…" Shikimaru looked towards Dokuja. "You have a special sub- mission. It is different from other regular missions because you have a choice to or not to set out on it. If there is any reason you don't want to go, you can return home if you wish."

"You kidding? I'm not backing down." Dokuja said, cracking his knuckles.

"Very well. Since no one has anything has anything to add I'll save the most important thing for last." Everyone looked at him. "Since I've known him Sasuke and I never really have been close buddies, in fact I don't really like him at all. All the same, Sasuke's a ninja belonging to the Hidden Leaf Village. He's a comrade, and I'll put my life on the line to help him. That's the way of our village. I know I usually seem like a pretty lazy guy, but not today. Because now I'm responsible for your lives too." A silent moment.

"Wow," Kiba said. "I never thought I'd see Shikimaru act like a Chunin. Very impressive."

"Okay, as soon as we check our gear, we'll go. Show me your weapons." Neji said, as everyone pulled out their equipment. Dokuja noticed Naruto in grief over something and walked next to him.

"Cheer up Naruto, we'll get him back no sweat!" Dokuja encouraged. Naruto smiled.

"Okay," Shikimaru continued. "Let's move out." They all turned to leave, when someone shouted.

"Wait!" It was Sakura. Everyone turned around.

"Are you all right?" Naruto asked, staring at his teammate.

"Lady Hokage told me everything. Sorry Sakura, I can't take you on this mission." Shikimaru stated. "I know you tried, but even you couldn't stop Sasuke, could you?" Naruto's eyes widened. "Now my only option is to confront him and force him to come back to the village. I'm sorry, but there's nothing else you can do for him."

"Wait, does that mean, Sasuke turned his back on you, Sakura?" Naruto asked. Sakura started to cry, unable to stop the flowing tears.

"Naruto," Sakura muttered, shaking slightly. "This is a once in a lifetime request. Just bring him home, please bring Sasuke back to me….I did everything I could. I tried, but I could stop him from leaving the village…" Dokuja trailed off the horrifying day Markue-Rae fled with Orochimaru, feeling Sakura's pain. "At this point, there's only one person who can stop him, only one who can save him…Naruto…It's all up to you…"

"Well gosh Sakura, you must really like Sasuke, huh?" Naruto said, Sakura looking back at him. "I get it. I see that, deep down, I know you must be suffering." Sakura's eyes slowly widened, thinking back into her past. Dokuja thought back as well. Sakura hugged herself, continuing to weep.

"Naruto…thank you so much…"

"Don't you worry one bit! I'm going to bring Sasuke back! I promise that on my life Sakura!" Naruto said, giving her thumbs up.

Dokuja whistled. "Nicely said, but you sure you can make such a promise?"

"Of course! I said it and I never go back on my word! That's my ninja way!"

"Also," Sakura calmed down a little. She turned to Dokuja "I heard about your sub mission. I wanted to wish you good luck."

"What sub mission?" Naruto asked. Shikimaru leaned in and whispered the details into his ear.

"Thanks, I'm much obliged." Dokuja said, thinking about a different matter.

"I'm also slightly worried that something might go wrong though…" Dokuja reached into his pocket.

"I planned on giving this to Markue-Rae after we completed the Forest of Death as a congratulatory gift…" He pulled out a gold medallion. It was a large circle with an insignia in the middle. The edges were outlined with diamonds and other gems such as rubies and emeralds.

Kiba gave a low whistle. "That must have cost you a fortune! But hey, it'd get you a date easy!" He laughed.

"Actually, it didn't cost me anything, my uncle gave it to me when I was about eight."

"Its….I don't know what to say…" Sakura remarked.

"Take care of it for me. And if Markue-Rae doesn't come back, feel free to keep it. If she does, give it to her for me."

"I will!" She held the gem in her hand and wrapped it around her neck.

"Well, come on! Let's get moving!" Naruto said, and the entire squad head out. Sakura couldn't help but clutch the necklace. She gave a silent prayer for his return as he disappeared over the hill.


	14. Sasuke's Betrayl Part II

A/N: Here's the next chapter, and yes, I'm going a little slow recently. Got a little busy.

Dokuja and the rest of the squad were in formation, heading out to find Sasuke. They made little distance so far, but were gradually gaining on the enemy. Dokuja dazed off into his thoughts.

_Hang on Markue-Rae, I'm coming. _He thought, continuing on this path to whatever may hit them. Close to half an hour passed before Kiba caught something.

"Akamaru?" He said to his dog, getting details.

"What's the matter with him?" Shikimaru asked.

"He smells blood. Somewhere nearby." Naruto started to get anxious.

"Well, got any details?"

"Not yet, but I'm working on it." A few minutes of silence. "Okay, here's what happened. Tow newcomers converged with the scent of Sasuke and five others. The two newcomers have stayed behind while Sasuke's group has moved on. So what now?"

"Just as I thought… Sasuke's got an escort." Shikimaru stated.

"There's no question, we got to go after Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

"Who died and made you boss?" Kiba spat. "From what I recall Shikimaru's supposed to be the leader here. It's up to him to decide." Naruto grunted.

"Well Shikimaru?" Choji asked.

"Since Akamaru smelled blood, my guess is that there was a battle between Sasuke's group and the two newcomers. If we go down there we might be able to get some useful information. Of course we can't just walk in, it might be a trap, so when we get there we'll go into full reconnaissance mode and take it slowly."

"And as we're doing that, Sasuke would have crossed the border, and out of our hands." Neji noted.

"Well Shikimaru? What's it going to be?" Naruto asked. A short silence before a reply.

"We follow Sasuke."

"Good going! I knew you'd make the right choice."

"One thing…"

"What?"

"These guys have already been in one fight, so their bound to know that there's going to be more ninja coming after them. There's a good chance of some traps or even an ambush up ahead. So from this point on, we proceed with caution. I want everyone, not just Akamaru, to put all your senses on full alert. If you catch a trace of anything suspicious, sound the alarm. We want to find these guys before they find us."

"Ha! Got it, and when we do find them I'll clobber them with this new jutsu of mine!" Akamaru started sniffing the air.

"The enemy's scent is here, all around us!"

"Everyone stop!!" All members of the platoon did as they were told, standing on a thick tree branch. "Look up on that tree. See that?" Everyone looked up and found a paper bomb on it.

"A perimeter barrier." Dokuja noted. "That's a tricky one."

"A perimeter barrier?" Choji asked.

"It's a kind of trap Ninjutsu. Once the perimeter is breached it gives the victim just enough time to get to the center of the area for the full effect."

"Ugh, now we got to waste time going around it. Great." Kiba said.

"Or not…" Dokuja withdrew a kunai. "Everybody get down, I'll take care of it."

"Do it." Shikimaru said, as he gestured to the others to get away. Dokuja threw the kunai as the perimeter barrier was set off in a bang. The smoke cleared in a few minutes. "We can go now!" The rest popped out from behind a branch and proceeded on back in formation.

*~*~*~*~*

The group was on the ground, navigating through more traps.

"Man, this place is covered in booby traps…" Kiba stated, stepping over wires that triggered explosions or something.

"Yeah, but luckily there easy to spot. These guys are moving fast and getting sloppy." Shikimaru noted.

Kiba turned to a teammate. "Naruto, do me a favor and watch where your going. I don't want you blowing us all up. There's a bunch of trip wires everywhere."

"Tell me something I don't know…" Naruto replied. A glimmer was spotted under his foot.

"Naruto, hold it!" Shikimaru yelled. Naruto froze just above the trip wire. Dokuja noticed Shikimaru used his Shadow Possession Jutsu.

"Didn't I tell you to watch your step, you moron?!" Kiba yelled.

"I get it. One wire is caught in the light and is easy to see, but the other is camouflaged. When you're busy avoiding the first, you trip the second."

"They've created a trap within a trap. They're clever, whoever they are." Neji said.

"You got that right." Dokuja agreed.

"All their other traps were quick and dirty as is they were moving fast. But not this one."

"They may have stopped to rest. Probably one of them is injured. Or is this part of the trap?" Neji flipped a hand sign, activating his Byakugan. "I see them!"

"Is there a girl with a large scythe?" Dokuja asked.

"I believe so, why?"

"Sub-mission."

"Well, let's go! I'm dying to show these clowns what I got!" Naruto said, ready for action.

"Is that right? Hate to disappoint you hotshot, but I got a new jutsu I've been working on too!" Kiba said, as Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Yeah, me too." Choji said.

"Don't forget me." Dokuja remarked.

"Alright, calm down. First we'll make a plan and get everything ready. Then…We nail these bastards." The plan was discussed in about a few minutes. "Okay, Kiba, the timing of those smoke bombs is absolutely crucial, got it?"

"Got it."

"Well, then let's go."

*~*~*~*~*

Dokuja was sneaking through the trees with Kiba, Choji and Naruto and getting into position. "Here we go…" Dokuja said. Then he noticed the one he wants is missing. "Not good…"

"What is it?" Kiba asked.

"One's missing." One threw a kunai with paper bombs attached, throwing Neji and Shikimaru out of their position. "And that."


	15. The Awakening

A/N: I know, it's been a while, but I had writers block recently. Here's the next chapter.

Shikimaru and Neji skidded on the ground towards the enemy.

"Well, well, I thought I was flushing a snake out of the bushes, but all I got was a couple of mice." One of them said, and Dokuja knew him as Sakon after reading his file. The one he also knew as Jirobo, a bigger man on his left, lowered his head, meaning to fight.

"Wait, hold on a minute," Shikimaru said, standing and raising his hands as gesture of peace. "We're here to negotiate, not to fight. Can't we talk this over like reasonable people?" Dokuja found a thread on his ankle and used his chakra gloves Kakashi gave him to cut them. He then made hand signs and focused his chakra as Kiba, Choji, and Naruto get pulled from their position by similar threads that were stuck to him earlier. Kiba through a smoke bomb, but it was rather pointless because the threads were still attached. Dokuja prepared his jutsu and waited for Shikimaru's signal. He gave a thumb up as he jumped down. "Go ahead and end it." He commented.

Dokuja pulled a couple of back flips and landed in front of Sakon, Diving Phoenix prepared. "Here we go!" Dokuja shouted. "Eat this! Divi"- He was cut short from someone grabbing him as Sakon spat at him.

"How can you fall for the simplest trick in the book?" He was thrown back with the rest of his team. He caught a glimpse of the one he knew was missing all along. Jirobo casted a barrier jutsu.

"Earth Style Barrier: Earth Dome Prison!" He shouted, as chunks of the ground in front of them started to form some sort of cage. Dokuja found an opening and jumped through before it shut and he was trapped.

"Ah, now I remember who you are." Kidomaru, the man with six arms, along with spider-like techniques. "That kid that broke through the Four Flames Formation back when we attacked the village at the Chunin Exam."

"I'm glad you weren't trapped in that, we wanted to talk with you." Taiyuya, the girl of the group, along with some sort of flute, commented.

Dokuja's eyes went from left to right frantically, searching for his friend. "She isn't here right now." Sakon said. "Had to run some errands. Now, down to business.

"Orochimaru gave us the mission to bring Sasuke with us, that's true. But we also had another optional directive…he wants you to come as well."

"And if I refuse?" Dokuja asked, gripping the end of his blade.

"We were ordered to take force if necessary." Sakon readied himself.

"Well I'm not going quietly." Dokuja drew his blade out.

"So Sakon, what now?" Kidomaru said.

"I can take him. I was dying to get a crack at him the last time we met." Sakon stepped forward.

"Just don't go into second state, if you need help, we're right here."

"That won't be necessary."

"Even so, he's a tough opponent to take head on."

"He shouldn't be more difficult than that other one was."

"Get ready to die!" Dokuja said, charging quickly, blade in his grasp. He made a swipe which Sakon just held in between his hands.

"I've heard you're quite the temperamental. Always full of fury."

"And that fury is going to be all over your sorry ass." He kicked out when Sakon backed off, releasing the blade. Dokuja took a second swipe, which was jumped over. A third strike missed, then the fourth was again grasped.

"You know, I've seen you as a child when you were captured. Eyes dark, flowing with rage and hatred. I liked that look in your eyes. But right now, you're going to perish just like the rest of your pathetic clan." Dokuja grew furious. He made hand signs and casted one of his signature jutsu.

"Fire Style: Flaming Rose Jutsu!" Five black fire balls surrounded Sakon and commenced to rotate at a high velocity, forming into a blazing twister. Dokuja figured he was safe as the vortex continued spinning. But, out of the blue, a fist shot out and slammed him into the earth dome behind him, sending him to the ground. He took another glance at his opponent when the jutsu subsided, noticing numerous black dots on his skin. There was no question it was his Curse Mark.

"Now this is priceless." Sakon spat. "Do you even know how to use that mark on your shoulder? Heck, if you even tried to unlock such power, you could probably take down all of us. All it needs…" He snapped his fingers, as Taiyuya played a sharp note on her flute. Dokuja felt a surging pain on his shoulder. "…is a little push." Dokuja gripped his shoulder, and then passed out from the pain. Sakon gripped him by the neck and broke a small hole in the barrier and tossed him through. "When he wakes up, tell him to think about it." Sakon then redid the jutsu and shut the hole, sealing the group inside.


	16. Ravaging Beasts: The Battle Begins

Yeah, that was a long wait, but I just started school and didn't have a lot of time on my hands. Sorry all my loyal fans, but I'll make it up to you guys by updating all of my stories MULTIPLE TIMES. Also, check out my new story on ! The title is Demon Apocalypse: The Saga of James Gauntov. Hope you like it.

Inside the dome, Naruto set Dokuja's limp and unconscious body upright against a wall. _What did he mean? Think about what? _Naruto asked himself, and then saw something shine an eerie color under his suit. He recognized the feeling of the chakra. It was his curse mark.

"We got to get out of here!" Naruto said to the others.

"I get it, let's figure out this jutsu you guys." Shikimaru said, as they all started talking.

*~*~*~*~*

Choji was getting ready for his Human Boulder when Dokuja woke up. Feeling this power surging through him as markings that resembled thorns on a vine appeared on his skin. He took off his mask and ditched it in the dirt. Choji hit the wall hard with his jutsu, but Dokuja noticed something coming: the chakra was getting intense. The blue aura covered Choji and sent him flying backward. Then Dokuja noticed something else even more shocking: the wall was repairing itself.

_I can't let it close up again! _Dokuja thought, jumping to his feet and charged at the wall, as even more power rushed to his right hand, now balled into a fist. He struck the wall and it blew open and he ran out in a split second. Everyone else followed.

"Thanks for finally waking up." Shikimaru said, then noticing the marks on his face. "What the hell did they do to you back there?"

"Honestly, who knows? And better yet, who cares?" Dokuja replied, and Naruto and Kiba both knew something was wrong with him.

"Where's your mask?" Kiba asked.

"I don't need it anymore. It's worthless to me now. I can control these eyes now. I was just too scared to try before." The wall crumbled into pieces and fell, burying his mask. Naruto and Kiba looked at each other in uncertainty. But Dokuja was sidetracked. He glared at two opponents in front of him, the one that made the prison…and the one he was after.

"Well, well, look who finally came out of his shell." Markue-Rae mocked. "Finally using the Curse Mark, eh? Like how it feels?" Dokuja gritted his teeth.

"What have you gained, hanging with these pathetic low-lives?" Dokuja growled.

"A lot more than you can imagine." Jirobo replied.

"Shut it, you fat bitch." Dokuja sneered.

"Don't call me that!"

"I believe I just did."

Jirobo began to charge, as Dokuja stood still. "Shatter Palm!" Jirobo shouted, thrusting his arm forward. Dokuja didn't flinch, as a thin layer of chakra surrounded him and blocked Jirobo, stopping him cold.

"Ninja Art: Black Widow's Protection!" Dokuja shouted, and the chakra blew Jirobo back. His teammates barely held their footing from the blast. Markue-Rae stepped forward.

"Well if your going to play like that, do it with someone more your level." She drew her scythe. Dokuja drew his sword. Kiba and Naruto already charged at Jirobo. But he no longer paid attention to them. He kept his eyes on his opponent. They squared off, still unable to move. Dokuja finally walked towards his comrade, slowly. Markue-Rae tightened her grip on the scythe.

"You never answered my question…" Dokuja said.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you can come back peacefully."

"It looks like you're still not going to take me on, man to man, even when you have so many advantages in this terrain that you're highly familiar with by now."

"Whatever. Just get talking or come on already."

"Fine." Markue-Rae charged, out of the blue, but was stopped by Choji, rolling in between them and stopping Shikimaru from hitting a tree. Dokuja was already gone and safely hidden in the trees. "Coward! Show yourself!" Something grabbed her foot, and she looked down, noticing a hand made of soil and rock was gripping her ankle. "So you learned that already, eh? Impressive, but a far cry from being perfect. You have to use it more often, you realize that?"

_Good, I have her still. Time for the fun…wait a minute…something isn't right…yeah, where's the fat bitch from earlier? _The ground started shaking and something collided with the tree and sent him into the ground as he was crushed by an enormous tree. He could feel his body growing cold as only his left hand remained unharmed. Someone must have seen it, because he heard shouting as his eyes were closing on him. He felt more power surging through him as he opened his eyes once more. He made several earth hands raise the boulder a little, and now his right hand was free and he simply punched it to blow it to pieces.

"What power…" Dokuja told himself, giving a semi-evil cackle. "I was never this strong, but I can do this much with ease…what have I been hiding from myself all these years?"

"Dokuja! Are you okay?" Naruto shouted.

"Okay? I'm better than okay, I'm fantastic! I never felt this good in my whole life!"

"What's wrong with you? You're not yourself!"

"Guys, I think we better shut this Curse Mark off now." Shikimaru said to his team. "Neji?"

"Very well." Neji charged at him as Dokuja made numerous earth hands to attack. Neji took his stance and performed his rotation. Dokuja grinned wickedly as the hands surrounded Neji's protective field of chakra and created a dome. He stopped spinning and analyzed his position. _Very clever…_he thought, as the dome's roof jolted downward all the way to the floor, crushing him to death.

"Neji!!" Naruto shouted. Dokuja turned around.

"Amateur." Something struck his shoulder and the markings faded back to their starting point as he hit the ground, weary. Neji was behind him. "A smart move, but yet you're too gullible and confident. It was smart making a clone of me for that, Shikimaru. Otherwise, I would have been dead."

"That's why I'm the leader." Shikimaru chuckled.

"Well, aren't you guys leaving? I can handle them!" Choji said.

"You better catch up with us, you hear me?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, let's move you guys!" The group fled, leaving Choji and Dokuja behind. Dokuja rubbed the back of his head as he stood.

"What hit me…? All I remember is getting knocked out by those other guys and…" He looked around. "Now I remember…"

"Dokuja, leave! I can handle them."

"No, you can't handle her. That's why I'm here."

"Well what do you know, a fat man teamed up with a skilled assassin. Classic." Markue-Rae mocked.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your trap shut already and fight!" Dokuja said. Choji and him charged at their opponents.

And the battle began.


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry guys….

This story didn't work out. I wrote myself into a rut, I'm not getting much done with it… I'm going to remove it. And it's prequel. BUT, I'm going to start a new one with a more…'limited' OC. I think it would make writing like this more interesting. Also I'm writing that one in first person. I'll have in the description if it's the one to talk the place or not, because I don't have a title for it just yet. So, I'll see you guys some other time. Later.

-Yoru Kurosaki


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